Assam gets 2 lakh more doses of Covishield vaccine, 4,06,610 doses available in the state

April 24: As the country is now experiencing a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases, both the Union and the State governments are trying to get maximum of the people vaccinated. Assam Government too has procured 2 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine from the Government of India. From the last few days, there were sporadic reports of shortage of vaccines in many of the centres. However, with the procurement of the fresh batch of 2 lakh vaccines, more people of the state can now get the jab. At present, Assam has in its stock 4,06,601 doses of vaccine.

Taking to his twitter handle on 24 April, State Health Minister, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote, “Pleased to share that we’ve received fresh batch of 2 lakh more doses of #CovishieldVaccine from Government of India, which shall help us further step up our #COVIDVaccination program in Assam. Our current doses availability stands at 406,610. Stay safe.”

#AssamCovidUpdate

Pleased to share that we've received fresh batch of 2 lakh more doses of #CovishieldVaccine from Government of India, which shall help us further step up our #COVIDVaccination program in Assam.

Our current doses availability stands at 406,610.

Stay safe. pic.twitter.com/TPSZzxIiQJ

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 24, 2021

The Covishield vaccine is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). The Pune-based firm pointing to the seriousness of the situation during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the firm’s need to ensure sustainability said, “The current situation is extremely dire; the virus is constantly mutating while the public remains at risk. Identifying the uncertainty, we have to ensure sustainability as we must be able to invest in scaling up and expanding our capacity to fight the pandemic and save lives.”

SII’s Covishield, which has been developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin are being used in the government’s massive vaccination drive in a race against the pandemic, which affected millions across the country.