Atchanna blames YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for vax crisis in Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati: The Covid vaccination in Andhra Pradesh is minimal and administered to just 6.6 per cent of its requirement, according to TDP state president Kinjarapu Atchannaidu. He demanded the government to intensify the vaccination drive in the state to save lives, instead of focusing on conducting examinations for the SSC and Intermediate students.

In a statement here on Saturday, the TDP leader said the population of Andhra Pradesh stands at 4.93 crore as per the 2011 census, the state needs around 9.86 crore doses of vaccines for two doses combined. However, as of now, combining both doses, a total of only 65.81 lakh doses are administered. It comes out to just 6.6 percent of the total requirement of Andhra Pradesh. Only 51.13 lakh people have received their first dosage and 14.68 lakh received the second dose.

He said the statistics indicate Andhra Pradesh has covered just around 10 per cent of the total population for the first dose of vaccination and even less than 3 per cent of the total population received their second dose. During the first phase of the vaccination drive in the country, the state reported 11.6 per cent of vaccine wastage where the national average was at 6.5 per cent, he said.

He said after the nation opened doors for the 18-45 age group for the vaccination drive, Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy stated that the state is not ready at the moment and it could be started only by September. As per the sources, Atchannaidu said the state government has identified 2.04 crore people in the 18-45 age group for the vaccination process but the government is only expected to provide both doses of vaccine for this age group by 2022.

He said other southern state governments have shown some better performance in vaccinating the younger population in this regard, like, Tamil Nadu government ordering 1.5 crores in the first phase, Kerala placing 1 crore orders, and planning to procure everything by July.

Whether Andhra Pradesh would be able to catch up with the neighbouring states, or delay its vaccination programme further and lead to more deaths, only time will tell, he said.