Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said that the national capital will run out of Covaxin doses within a day and that its Covishield vaccines will only last three-four days.
The minister made the announcement after reviewing preparations at Guru Teg Bahadur COVID Care Centre at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in central Delhi on Monday.
This development comes just days after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the Centre to provide 2.6 crore Covid-19 vaccines to the Delhi government.
On Saturday, Kejriwal had said that the city needs 80-85 lakh doses every month for the next three months to inoculate all adults in the national capital.
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Delhi has so far received 5.5 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines for the 18-44 category, and over 43 lakh doses for 45-plus, and healthcare and frontline workers, according to government data released on Sunday.
Around 39 lakh doses have been administered in the national capital so far.
Till Sunday evening, Delhi had 4.65 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines available for those above 45, and healthcare and frontline workers, while 2.74 lakh doses were available for the 18-44 age category.
On Monday, Jain said the dip in the positivity rate and the number of new infections over the last fortnight is a "glimmer of hope".
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"The number of cases has reduced from around 28,000 to 13,000 now. The positivity rate has come down from a high of 36 per cent to around 20 per cent," Jain said.
He, however, said there's no room for any leniency and urged everyone to keep their guard up.
Jain said the 400-bed Guru Teg Bahadur COVID Care Centre has been attached with the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital.
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee has provided the infrastructure for the facility and the Delhi government has given medical support, he said.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, president of the DSGMC, said the COVID care centre will be managed by 50 doctors from LNJP Hospital. They will be supported by a team of 150 nurses and ward boys.
All beds have oxygen concentrators. The facility has a backup of 150 D-type cylinders. It has all the essential drugs, including Remdesivir and Fabiflu, used in the treatment of Covid-19, Sirsa said.
"Patients who need up to 20 litres per minute of oxygen can be treated here," he said, adding that the treatment and food will be completely free.
On Sunday, the national capital logged 273 new Covid-19 fatalities and 13,336 new cases.
The low number of new cases, the lowest since April 12, can be ascribed to a smaller number of tests -- 61,552 -- conducted on Saturday.
(With PTI inputs)
