A truck containing the Covid-19 vaccine was found abandoned in Madhya Pradesh. The truck was carrying 2,40,000 doses of Covaxin worth around Rs 8 crore. The incident happens at a time when the country is facing a shortage of vaccine.
The truck was found near the Kareli bus stand in Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh. After receiving the information, the police found the driver's mobile phone from a near place. However, police said that they could not trace the truck driver and helper. It is believed that the vaccine would be safe for use since the truck's air conditioning was working.
Also, the central government has said it will provide another 17 lakh doses of the vaccine to the states within three days. At present, 79 lakh doses of vaccine are available with the states, the Health Ministry said.
The distribution of the vaccine in the country to people between the ages of 18 and 44 started today. However, many states have stated that they will not be able to start the vaccine supply today due to the shortage of vaccine. States including Delhi, Bihar, Bengal, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh have decided not to start vaccine distribution.
Today, vaccine distribution started in some districts of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Private hospitals such as Fortis, Apollo and Max have also started distributing the vaccine. The first batch of Sputnik vaccine from Russia will reach India likely by today.
Meanwhile, the Ernakulam district collector said that strict actions will be initiated against those private laboratories if they charge more for RT-PCR test or refuse to work or conduct Covid-19 tests. He further added that all the concerning authorities will work to ensure that private labs are functioning properly amidst a rapid rise in the Covid-19 cases.
