Telangana's Industry and Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday rued that while Hyderabad is the vaccine hub of the world, it has no vaccines to inoculate people against Covid-19.
"While Hyderabad is the vaccine hub of the world, vaccine manufacturer for the world, it is unfortunate that we don't have vaccines for our own people," he said while inaugurating a Covid care centre in Cyberabad, the information technology district.
"If we are given enough vaccines, our government has capability to administer one million doses per day. We can cover the entire state in 45 days. It's unfortunate that demand supply equation is quite bad in the country. The demand is quite high while supply is meagre and everything is governed by the Centre," said Rama Rao, who is son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, hoped that the situation will improve. He said it was individual opinion that the Centre should reach out to Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac and other vaccine manufacturers in the world who can give India the required number of vaccines in shortest possible time.
"I am also told that there are vaccines which are lying idle elsewhere in the world, in Canada, Denmark and the US. There are vaccines which are pending approval and there are vaccines already approved and which are lying idle elsewhere without consumption and without demand," he said.
He wanted the Centre to step up its efforts allow more vaccine manufacturers to enter the country so that demand supply gap is covered
Pointing out that Punjab and several state governments have been told by vaccine manufacturers that they don't want to deal directly with the states, he hoped that the Centre will take states into confidence and understand their requirements. He said each state can't have its vaccine strategy. "After all, it is one country and we have to work in sync," he said.
The minister said the potential super spreaders and vulnerable sections among people have to be identified and vaccinated. He said the states and the Centre will have to prepare themselves and work together to tackle the next way and that they can't work in isolation.
Stating that vaccination is the solution, KTR said the state government was in touch with the Centre to get more doses.
The minister, who heads the state Task Force for procurement of vaccines, said the state government has also called tenders for one crore vaccines.