We will open vaccination centres in 250-300 more schools soon: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said Delhi is not getting an adequate amount of vaccines, and if it were to get the required amount of doses then the Delhi government will be able to vaccinate all within three (3) months.
THEOKHLATIMES NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT. DONATE RS 100, 500, 1K OR MORE TO SUSTAIN LOCAL REPORTING: JUST CLICK TO PAY
He said that in Delhi’s two crore population, more or less 1 crore fall in the 18-44 age group; 50 lakh are under-18 and 50 lakh are above 45; therefore roughly 1.5 crore people are above 18.
Kejriwal said that Delhi needs three crore vaccine doses to vaccinate these 1.5 crore people, but has received just 40 lakh doses. As a result, Delhi needs 2 crore 60 lakh additional vaccines. He said that in three months, around 2 crore 60 lakh vaccines are required, and more or less 80-85 lakh vaccines are needed per month for the next three months.
The Chief Minister requested the Central government to provide Delhi with the required amount of vaccines. He said that vaccination is the only Suraksha Chakra that can stop the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Addressing a digital press conference, Kejriwal said: “The vaccination drive in Delhi is in full swing. Since the day the vaccination drive began for those below the age of 45, I have witnessed great enthusiasm amongst the youth, many of whom are getting vaccinated. The people are visibly happy with the arrangements made by the government. We have made these arrangements in around 100 schools and are going to increase it about 250-300 schools.”
He added: “Today, in Delhi, approximately 1 lakh vaccines are being administered daily — around 50,000 to those below 45 and about 50,000 to those above 45. Thus, more or less 1 lakh vaccines are being administered daily in Delhi and many people from areas neighbouring Delhi — Faridabad, Gurgaon, Sonepat, Ghaziabad, Noida — are coming here to get vaccinated. They have also appreciated the arrangements made in Delhi.”
Kejriwal said: “Today a major obstacle we’re facing is that of vaccine scarcity. If we get adequate doses, then as I have said repeatedly, we will be able to vaccinate the entire Delhi in three months. The people of Delhi want this, the Delhi Government wants this. Delhi’s population is 2 crores, more or less 1 crore people are in the age group of 18-45, 50 lakh are under 18, and 50 lakh are older than 45; so those above 18 are roughly 1.5 crore. These 1.5 crore people have to be given three crore vaccines, which is our requirement. From these 3 crore vaccines, the Delhi Government as of now has received approximately 40 lakh vaccines. Therefore we need 2 crore 60 lakh additional vaccines.”
He said: “If the 2 crore 60 lakh vaccines are made available to us, every person in Delhi can get vaccinated, within three months. To administer 80-85 lakh vaccines every month, we need to administer 3 lakh vaccines daily. Today, we are already administering 1 lakh vaccines in 100 schools. This will be increased to 300 schools. So we can easily increase our capacity to 3 lakh vaccines per day, there is no problem with this. Now that we have started the arrangements, we know how to proceed and are going to carry this out in the next few days.”
He reiterated: “If we get the needed 80-85 lakh vaccine doses, then we can vaccinate the entire Delhi in the next 3 months. In fact, more than this will be necessary since people from the NCR — Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad — and other neighboring areas are coming to Delhi to get vaccinated. So, we will need even more vaccines than what I’ve already mentioned, but the minimum requirement of Delhi must be met with. Thus, I appeal to the Central Government that sufficient vaccines be made available to us.”
Kejriwal said: “In the last few days, we’ve been reading reports that the Prime Minister’s principal scientific advisor has issued an advisory, a warning of sorts that a third wave is looming at large. The Supreme Court has also expressed its concerns on this and naturally, the general public is extremely anxious about this, given that the second wave has proven to be very dangerous. Therefore, to protect ourselves from the third wave, being completely vaccinated is imperative. Only if all of Delhi is fully vaccinated can we try and protect ourselves from the third wave.”
He added: “The Delhi government is making efforts in this direction. I’m hopeful that just the way the Central Government has been providing assistance, it will continue to do so in the future. We are particularly concerned about children. Youngsters and children under 18 cannot get vaccinated right now. I appeal to all experts and the Centre to arrange a vaccine for them too so that they can also get inoculated. As of today, we have 5-6 days of vaccine left that we are rapidly administering. I hope that the adequate vaccine is sanctioned for the people of Delhi as soon as possible.”
