Authorities Shut Down Covid-19 Vaccination Centres In Maharashtra As State Faces Jab Crunch

The Centre today hit back at the Maharashtra government and accused it of creating panic and spreading lies after it raised serious concerns about Covid-19 vaccine shortage in the state.

The Centre's reaction came hours after Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that the state had barely 2-3 days of vaccine stock left and urged the central government to hasten supplies. A day earlier, other non-Bharatiya Janata Party ruled states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha had expressed similar concerns of vaccine shortage.

The development comes as India surpassed the US to become the fastest vaccinating country in the world with an average daily rate of 3.09 million vaccine doses. In all 87 million doses have been administered to date, including 3.3 million on Tuesday, Union health ministry said in a statement.