In constant touch with SII, task force formed to manage vaccine distribution: Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday, November 24, informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the state has formed a task force to ensure timely distribution of coronavirus vaccine.

Thackeray also stated that the state government is in constant touch with the CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawalla, which is the partner in the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19.

A task force has been set up to manage distribution and vaccination in Maharashtra and the government is in constant touch with Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India to track development of the coronavirus vaccine. pic.twitter.com/DJfGKAfsJJ

— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) November 24, 2020

After witnessing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the state, the Prime Minister interacted via video-conferencing with the chief minister of all states to review the situation.

The Chief Ministers Office (CMO) later tweeted that Thackeray also informed PM Modi about various steps the Maharashtra government has taken to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state.

CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray informed the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi about the various steps taken to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state, during a video conference held this morning. pic.twitter.com/4La7Y2EntX

— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) November 24, 2020

Apart from Thackeray, other states chief ministers -- West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal were also present at this virtual meeting.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra continues to be on the top in the list of worst-affected states due to coronavirus outbreak with 82,915 active cases and 3,172 deaths. So far, 1,79,237 people have been recovered from the disease in the state.

Earlier in the day, Poonawalla had ensured that Serum Institute will first focus on supplying the COVID-19 vaccine to Indians before distributing it to other countries.

Meanwhile, on November 23, AstraZeneca had said that the efficacy of around 90 per cent, positive results from an interim analysis of clinical trials of AZD1222 in the UK and Brazil the vaccine has proved to be highly effective in preventing COVID-19.