Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], April 8 (ANI): Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta on Thursday said that the state is short of COVID-19 vaccines and is only left with stock for one to two days.

Speaking to ANI, Gupta said, "We have stock for the next 1-2 days. We have made a request to the Union Home Minister and I am hopeful that he will provide the vaccines."He further said, "Around 83 lakh people need to get first and second doses of the vaccine. It means we will need around 1.60 crore doses. We are getting it gradually. We do have vaccines available with us but there has been a shortage at some locations. So, we have spoken to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan."So far, about 18,27,800 first doses of the vaccines have been administered while 2,78,000 second doses have been given, informed the Jharkhand Health Minister.

"Had requested the Union Health Minister to make available at least 10 lakh doses immediately. They are likely to arrive by tomorrow," he added.

This comes after Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had on Wednesday said that the state is facing a COVID-19 vaccine shortage and demanded 40 lakh doses every week from the Centre.

Reacting sharply to Tope's claims, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had on Wednesday said that he had seen statements made by public representatives in Maharashtra about the shortage of vaccines and asserted that it was nothing but "an attempt to divert attention from Maharashtra government's repeated failures to control the spread of pandemic".

The minister had said the "lackadaisical attitude of the state government has singularly bogged down the entire country's efforts to fight the virus" and the lack of efforts of the part of the state government "is now clearly visible and come to haunt us all". (ANI)