Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today said deplorable attempts are being made by some state governments to distract attention from their failures and spread panic among the people regarding COVID pandemic. He expressed alarm that many state governments have failed to take appropriate response measures and apply the lessons that nation has learnt over the past one year of handling this pandemic. <br />''<br />''In a statement, the Minister said a section of political leaders are asking to open up vaccination to everyone above the age of 18, or to drastically lower the minimum age criteria for vaccination eligibility. Expressing concern over such statements, the Health Minister stressed that the primary aim of vaccination is to reduce mortality among the most vulnerable people, and enable the society to beat the pandemic. He said there is no option but to prioritize as long as the supply of vaccines remains limited.<br />''<br />''Dr Harsh Vardhan pointed out that Maharashtra has vaccinated just 86 per cent of health workers with the first dose, Delhi has vaccinated 72 per cent and Punjab 64 per cent. On the other hand, 10 Indian states and UTs have done more than 90 per cent. He alleged that these states are trying to divert attention from their poor vaccination efforts.<br />'' <br />''He further stated that allegations of vaccine shortage are utterly baseless. He added that vaccine supplies are being monitored on a real-time basis, and State governments are being apprised regularly about it.<br />'' <br />''The Minister said the lackadaisical attitude of the Maharashtra government has bogged down the entire country's efforts to fight the virus. He said the lack of efforts of the state government is clearly visible and Maharashtra has the highest cases and deaths in the country as also one of the highest test positivity rates in the world. <br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Dr Harsh Vardhan assured all states that the Central Government is doing everything it can to help them. He said everyone has to work together to defeat the pandemic.</span><br />