Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday suggested that the Centre share the anti-COVID-19 vaccine formula of the two manufacturers with other companies in the country to scale up production.
Kejriwal said there is a shortage of vaccine across the country and an urgent need to ramp up its manufacturing on war footing while developing a national policy to inoculate everyone in the next few months.
He said the Centre should ensure that all the vaccine manufacturing plants in the country start producing COVID doses.
The two COVID vaccine manufacturers can be provided royalty for use of their formula by other companies, he said.
He said scaling up vaccine production is needed to vaccinate everyone before the onset of the next wave of COVID-19.
Over 1.39 lakh people were vaccinated in Delhi on Monday, of which nearly 46 per cent belonged to the 18-44 age group, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday.
“Total 1,39,261 people were vaccinated yesterday in Delhi out of which 64,151 are from 18-45 age group,” Sisodia tweeted.
On Monday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Atishi had said the Delhi government will have to close vaccination centres where Covaxin is being administered to beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group after Tuesday evening if its stocks are not replenished.
Delhi’s Covaxin stock for this category would last till Tuesday evening, she said, adding Covishield doses for this age group can last up to four days.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and Delhi government to treat as a representation a PIL seeking setting up of drive-in vaccination centres in open areas, including stadiums, as has been done in Mumbai.
A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh asked the central and Delhi governments to decide the representation in accordance with the law, rules, regulations and policy applicable to facts of the case.
The court said the decision be taken as expeditiously as possible and practicable.
The plea by Delhi-based trader Amandeep Aggarwal had sought setting up of the drive-in vaccination centres, as done in Mumbai, to ensure citizens do not come into contact with each other and social distancing is maintained when people get vaccinated.
The petitioner, represented by senior advocate A S Chandhiok and advocate Rushab Aggarwal, contended that the purpose of imposing a curfew or lockdown would be defeated if people are queuing or crowding at closed spaces like vaccination centres or hospitals to get vaccinated.
The plea had contended that creating vaccination centres in open spaces would reduce the pressure on the medical staff and infrastructure at hospitals which are struggling to cater to the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the national capital.
“The drive-in vaccination centres will encourage people to get vaccinated at the earliest without compromising themselves by coming in contact with other citizens,” the plea had said.