Amaravati, Apr 18 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh on Sunday received two lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine Covishield from Serum Institute of India, Pune.

With this the state has received eight lakh doses of Covid vaccine in two days.

This is expected to help the authorities to continue vaccination. The state is facing a shortage of Covid-19 vaccine for the last few days following the Tika Utsav.

The state on Saturday received five lakh doses of Covishield and one lakh doses of Covaxin from Serum Institute Pune and Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad respectively.

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on April 16 wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to instruct the Union Health Ministry to supply 60 lakh doses of vaccine to Andhra Pradesh.

The chief minister sought 60 lakh doses to administer vaccine to meet the first-dose requirements of the listed age groups.

Reddy also highlighted the successful conduct of the Tika Utsav in Andhra Pradesh under which 6,28,961 persons were vaccinated in the state on a single day on April 14.

Stating that vaccination is the only weapon against Covid, the chief minister on Saturday asked officials to ensure vaccination of six lakh people every year.

Meanwhile, the health department on Sunday released data of Covid essential stocks available in the state. According to the department, 46,565 Remdesivir injections are available. Of this, 46,565 are in central drug stores.

The state also has 4.75 lakh VTMs, 8.07 lakh PPE kits, 6.34 lakh N95 masks, 23.89 lakh triple layer masks, 13.41 lakh gloves (in pairs) and 4.26 lakh home isolation kits.

According to the department, out of 2,268 ICU beds, 1,506 are available. Similarly, 6,576 oxygen general beds out of 9,966 beds were available. The data also shows that out of 4,867 general beds, 3,211 are vacant.