Chennai: Global tenders would be floated for procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and all steps shall be taken expeditiously to inoculate those between the 18-45 age group, the Tamil Nadu government said on Wednesday.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has also ordered industries and medical departments to immediately set up more units to produce oxygen and procure it from steel plants located in other states and it should be brought to Tamil Nadu through trains.
Southern Railway, meanwhile, said it has dispatched its first oxygen express from Tamil Nadu -Tiruvallur- today to Odisha. The empty containers are likely to reach Rourkela on May 13, a press release said.
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On the arrival of the train in Tamil Nadu with oxygen, an official said, "oxygen-filled containers are expected to arrive in Tamil Nadu on May 16."
Karnataka and Telangana are among the states that have decided to go in for global tenders to buy COVID-19 vaccines.
Following a meet chaired by Stalin here to review the COVID-19 scenario in the state, the government said an allocation of about 13 lakh vaccine doses to the state is not sufficient to cover all those in the 18-45 age group.
Hence, "the government has decided to go in for global bids to procure vaccines," an official release said.
The Centre is providing vaccine doses to all states for vaccinating people above the age of 45 and the union government has now said that states should go in for buying vaccines to inoculate those in the 18-45 age group.
All steps shall be in place to vaccinate people in the 18-45 age bracket expeditiously, the release said.
Though the oxygen allocation to Tamil Nadu has been increased to 419 tonnes from 280 by the Centre, the state required more of it, the release said.
Read:| Augment supply of oxygen, vaccine to TN, HC tells Centre
Therefore the CM ordered industries and medical departments to immediately set up more units to produce oxygen and also procure it from steel plants through trains from other states.
The oxygen received should be properly distributed to hospitals that need it, the CM advised.
Tamil Nadu has over 1.60 lakh active virus cases as of Tuesday.
Top officials, Ministers, including Medical and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian, participated in the review meeting.
PTI
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