Kerala not in list, will have to wait for Covaxin doses

NEW DELHI: Kerala will have to wait for the 25 lakh doses of Coxavin that are being procured from Bharat Biotech. In the first phase, the vaccine was given to 18 states - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Kerala is the only state in South India not on the list. The vaccine will reach states including Kerala as production increases. On May 8, Bharat Biotech released its first list of 14 states. The list was updated to 18 yesterday.

Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that Bharat Biotech had informed him that Delhi could not be provided 67 lakh doses of Covaxin and that the central government is behind this. Sisodia said more than 100 vaccination centers in 17 schools were closed due to the vaccine shortage.

Suchitra Ella, co-founder of Bharat Biotech, tweeted that it was unfortunate that some states were complaining about their intentions. Fifty of their employees are on leave due to Covid infection. She made it clear that they are working for the country 24 hours a day even during lockdown.