Make vaccines, medicine and oxygen available, Mamata tells PM Modi

Kolkata: In view of the steep rise of the Covid cases in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene immediately and make available adequate supplies of vaccine, medicine and oxygen so that the vaccination process can be scaled up and treatment be provided.

The Chief Minister, in her two-page letter, mentioned three areas where the state is looking for an active cooperation from the centre.

"Vaccination is of top importance. Particularly in our state and more particularly in metropolitan Kolkata where density of population is extremely high, focused and aggressive vaccination is extremely important. Unfortunately for us, the supply of vaccines from the GOI (Government of India) side has been scarce and erratic which has been negatively affecting our vaccination programmes.

"While West Bengal is one of the best performers in vaccination, it is now suffering because of uncertainties of supply from GOI end. We have to vaccinate around 2.7 crore, and for that we need 5.4 doses. We request for an urgent intervention to ensure that the state gets its requirement of vaccine doses fulfilled at the earliest."

Reminding the Prime Minister that her state wanted to purchase the doses of vaccination directly from the state funds and had written to the Prime Minister earlier on this issue, Banerjee said: "The state has not received any requisite clearance yet."

The Chief Minister also said: "The supply of essential medicines like remedesvir and tollizumab (Actemera) is extremely scarce and uncertain today, which has been a matter of grave concern for the doctors here. We need around 6,000 vials of remedesvir and 1,000 vials of Tollizumab daily. However, presently only 1,000 vials of remedesvir are available daily and no fresh supply of tollizumab is coming. It may be seen that the relevant authorities step up their efforts to ensure steady supply of these most essential supplies of medicines as soon as possible."

She also requested the Prime Minister to increase the supply of oxygen. "The supply of oxygen, as you know, must be assured and certain. SAIL is meeting our need for the moment and we shall be grateful if you kindly instruct them too for ensuring steady supplies," she wrote.

The Chief Minister also assured that the state is ready to extend its resources to the fullest extent to the Centre to tackle the pandemic so that the country can overcome the situation.