Odisha Seeks 30,000 Oxygen Cylinders, 25 Lakh Covishield Vaccines

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday requested the Centre to ensure supply of oxygen cylinders and Covishield vaccines.

Briefing the media after a virtual meeting with Union Health & Family Welfare minister Harsh Vardhan, state Health & Family Welfare minister Naba Kishore Das said he apprised the former of the following requirements for effective management of COVID-19 in Odisha:

— As about 22 lakh people are waiting for the second dose of vaccine, the state needs 25 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine.

— While daily consumption of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) in Odisha is 52.9 metric tonne (MT), production capacity in the state is 155.51 MT (through cylinders). The surplus LMO can’t be utilized due to shortage of cylinders. Hence the state urgently needs 15,000 B-type oxygen cylinders and 15,000 D-type oxygen cylinders.

— As Odisha now has more critical patients, it needs 500 ventilators.

— To ramp up COVID-19 tests for early detection of the virus, the state needs sufficient rapid antigen test kits.

— For the safety of health workers and doctors, the state needs 5 lakh PPE kits, 10 lakh gloves and 10 lakh N95 masks.

— To get timely assistance and information, there should be a 24×7 helpline in the national task force.

Das further informed the Union minister that effective COVID management in Odisha has ensured fatality ratio in the state is much lower (0.39%) than the national average (1.08%). Besides, the recovery rate in Odisha is more than 80 per cent (82.23%).

Also Read: COVID Spike: Odisha Govt Orders Increase In Frequency Of Refilling Oxygen Cylinders