Bhubaneswar: The state government Saturday decided to conduct the global bidding for procurement of Covid-19 vaccines May 28 to ensure timely supply of the jabs to the state.
Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra Saturday said that the pre-bidding consultation on the same has been planned for May 19. The government plans to procure around 3.80 crore vaccine doses through the tender process, he added.
“The state Cabinet had earlier decided to issue global tender for procurement of vaccines from across the world. We have done the work and the same has been uploaded on the website of Odisha State Medical Corporation Limited (OSMCL). Odisha is the first Indian state to issue a global tender on the issue in a very short period of time. We want to provide vaccination to the people as early as possible,” he said.
He also added, “We have issued the tender to procure a total of 3.80 crore vaccines and have asked for the same within four months. We have a pre-bidding consultation May 19 and 28. Indian and foreign manufacturers of Covid vaccines could take part in the tender. We can start procuring the vaccines in good numbers as soon as the tender is submitted.”
Mahapatra said that Covid cases in the state have been stagnant and the positivity rate in many regions of the state is either declining or stagnant.
“The positivity rate is either stagnant or decreasing in districts like Bhadrak, Bolangir, Jharsuguda, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Sundargarh. This has given us some relief. We can see better results of the lockdown in coming days. The infections in the state have been between 10,000-12,000 everyday,” he said.
