Maharashtra will offer free COVID vaccines to all above the age of 18, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Wednesday ahead of the third phase of vaccination drive starting May 1. "Today, the cabinet under the leadership of CM Uddhav Thackeray has decided to provide free COVID-19 vaccination to all the citizens of Maharashtra aged between 18-44 years," CMO Maharashtra stated.
Maharashtra has become the 10th state to offer free COVID vaccine in the 18-45 years category. Earlier, states like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Kerala, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Goa and Sikkim had announced that both Covishield and Covaxin will be provided to all adults free of cost in these states.
The Maharashtra cabinet decision, however, comes a day after the state health minister, Rajesh Tope, said the state may receive its supply of 'Covishield' vaccine only after May 20. He said Maharashtra alone needs 12 crore vaccine vials to inoculate the population of 5.71 crore in the age group of 18 to 44.
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Reports of vaccine shortage poured in from various parts of the state on Wednesday including Mumbai. Several people complained that at some of the 75 functional centres out of the total 135 in Mumbai, the vaccine stock got over within a couple of hours after the process began in the morning.
The situation was no different in cities like Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Nashik and Nagpur where people stood up in long queues for hours for receiving the shots but left fuming and frustrated.
