Tamil Nadu CM seeks 20 lakh vax doses & access to Remdesivir from PM; more curbs likely

CHENNAI: Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to supply around 20 lakh doses, which would be enough for 10 days, to ensure that the vaccination drive in Tamil Nadu can continue unaffected.
The CM also urged the PM to ensure “easy accessibility” to drug Remdesivir, and pushed for the immediate commissioning of an integrated vaccine complex in Chengalpet, a Union government project.
Tamil Nadu had administered 47.31 lakh doses and is expected to continue to inoculate two lakh people a day, the CM said in his letter to Modi. The letter was released minutes before the PM was to hold a video conference with CMs. Tamil Nadu chief secretary Rajeev Ranjan represented the state government at the meeting.
Hours after the meet, senior bureaucrats led by Rajeev Ranjan met the CM at his Greenways Road residence and apprised him of the developments. The meeting lasted 40 minutes.
“The discussion with the CM was more on strengthening Covid care centres, oxygen supply and diversion of health workers wherever required. The state is planning to impose further restrictions without affecting economic activities. It could be announced on Saturday,” sources said.
In his letter the PM the CM said, “It has come to the notice that directions are being issued by national and certain state regulators, prioritizing supplies by individual manufacturers to certain states and restricting Remdesivir sales only within the state where it is being produced.” This would be very damaging to the availability of such valuable life saving drugs in places of need, he said. At this stage, any restrictive orders by individual states, should be strictly barred to ensure easy accessibility of Remdesivir. “I urge the Government of India to take up this issue with such states where the companies have their production facilities located,” the CM said.
The integrated vaccine complex in Chengalpet is ready and awaits commissioning and validation, the CM said. “I am informed that this would be possible if some pending work can be fasttracked. I would appeal to you to bring this facility to working condition at the earliest to augment the production of Covid vaccines,” the CM said.
The state had reduced vaccine wastage to below 5% and fixed a target of bringing it further down to 3%, since the wastage has an impact on getting more vaccines from the Centre.
At least 20 people could be administered vaccines from each vial of Covaxin, and 10 from a vial of Covishield. Since the public avoided vaccination in the initial stages of the vaccination programme, and only five or six people dropped in until the end of the day, the remaining doses got wasted.
A vial should be used within four hours of opening it. Now with people above 45 years coming for vaccination from April 1, and the plan is to administer to all above 18 years from May 1, the state government hopes that wastage could be avoided.