Mumbai: As COVID-19 infections continue to witness sharp rise, Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik on Sunday noon declared that the state will vaccinate all its people for free of cost.
Malik said that the initiative has been discussed with the state Cabinet, and global tenders will be hovered soon. “We will vaccinate the entire state population of Maharashtra above 18 years of age for free of cost,” Malik said.
The Maharashtra government will float a global tender for Covid-19 vaccines and Remdesivir injections, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Saturday in Pune. Ajit Pawar who was for review meeting in Pune on Saturday, said, "We have decided to float a global tender for COVID-19 vaccines and Remdesivir under a committee, which will be headed by Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte." As the Union government has permitted vaccination of people in the age group of 18 to 45, the state will start a vaccination drive for this category from May 1, he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey has discussed the details of the vaccine with CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawala, he informed media persons. "We will also certify that the state receives vaccines from foreign manufacturers with the coordination and support from the Central government," he said. So far, Maharashtra has been the worst-hit state in India by the novel coronavirus. It has been reporting over 60,000 daily infections over the last few days.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during high-level meets to review the COVID situation recently stressed that vaccination is "the biggest weapon" in the fight against COVID-19 and requested doctors to encourage more and more patients to get the vaccine jabs.
