Chandigarh: Leading COVID-19 vaccine maker from the US Moderna has turned down the Punjab government’s request to send supplies of its vaccines directly to the state.
The Boston-based pharmaceutical company whose vaccine is being administered in North America and Europe said, as according to their policy, they will deal only with the Central government.
Punjab State Nodal Officer for vaccination Vikas Garg said that the Punjab government is examining possibilities of hovering a global tender for the procurement of vaccines from all possible sources to ensure early inoculation in the state.
It recently reached out to all vaccine manufacturers for direct purchase of various COVID-19 vaccines, including Sputnik V, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, to ensure early vaccination in the state.
Garg said that only from Moderna they received this kind of a reply.
The state government was forced to stop vaccination for Phase I and Phase 2 categories in the last three days because of the non-availability of vaccines. All efforts would be made for the acquisition of vaccines to satisfy the severe shortage in the state, which had received fewer than 44 lakh vaccine doses so far from the Central Government.
According to the centre’s allocation for Phase III (18-44 age group), the state government has been able to buy only 4.2lakh vaccine doses, including 66,000 received yesterday. A total of 3.65 lakh have already been used, leaving only 64000 for use as of now, said Garg.
Post Your Comments