India PM Modi gets second vaccine dose and urges public to sign up for jabs as rollout slows

India’s prime minister has received his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and urged the public to get vaccinated.

Narendra Modi confirmed in a tweet he got the jab at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

“Vaccination is among the few ways we have, to defeat the virus,” he said. “If you are eligible for the vaccine, get your shot soon.”

It comes as India reported 126,789 new cases, the highest number yet, marking another a six-digit spike for the third time within a week.

A month-long surge in cases has pushed the country close to the 13 million mark, nearing the second worst-hit country, Brazil, which has 13.2 million cases.

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The pandemic has risen to “critical” levels in much of the nation, especially in the second-most densely populated state of Maharashtra, as some hospitals suffered dwindling bed space, oxygen shortages and morgues running out of space.

The vaccination drive suffered a setback after a number of vaccine centres across India reported a shortage of jabs and some had to shut down temporarily.

At least six states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, sought the government’s help and demanded immediate stocks of vaccines.

A member of parliament, Supriya Sule, from Maharashtra, said in Pune “109 centers remained shut today because they had no stock of vaccines.”

Odisha said it was forced to shut down 700 of its vaccination centres due to lack of vaccines. “By 9 April, there will be stock-out of Covishield vaccine in the entire state,” the state’s chief, Naveen Patnaik, said.

A few private hospitals in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad and Noida also reported shortages with hospitals putting up notices, saying the centre is closed as they have run out of stock, reported NDTV.

The states complaining of vaccine shortages kicked-off a political row in the country, with union health minister Harsh Vardhan lashing out at Maharashtra’s government for creating panic.

In what seemed to be an attempt to hit back, the central government on Wednesday wrote to opposition political parties-led states - Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi – pulling them up on their performance in the vaccination drive and their wastage of dosages amid the shortage.

The letter said they have vaccinated eligible beneficiaries, including healthcare workers, below- par.

Meanwhile, the centrtal government promised to send 170,000 doses to Maharashtra to curb the shortage instead of a previously-promised 730,000.

Maharashtra’s health minister, Rajesh Tope, indicated that the vaccines were too few and the second most populated state with the highest caseload should get more vaccines while pointing that Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are getting over 400,000.

“We want 16 million vaccine dosages per month and 40k every week because we are vaccinating 6 lakh people every day,” Mr Tope said.

As many as twelve states are showing a significant rise in cases.

India saw an intensified second wave on the heels of ongoing election rallies that saw massive crowds and celebrations of festivals.

On Thursday, home minister of ruling BJP party Amit Shah was criticised on social media after his pictures leading rallies maskless went viral.

India now has close to 1 million active cases with more than 166,000 deaths.

The highest contributor to the national tally, Maharashtra saw a record of 59,907 single-day surges, followed by Chhattisgarh with 10,000 and Karnataka 6,976 new cases.

Several cities in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu on Thursday joined the growing list of states imposing restrictions to break the chain of transmission.

On Thursday, New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, temporarily suspended the entry of all people coming from India, including its own nationals. The ban will last from 11 April till 28 April.