Mumbai, May 13 (PTI) Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday demanded that the Union government float a single global tender of coronavirus vaccines on behalf of all the states to avoid "unhealthy competition".

He made the suggestion during a video conference between Union health minister Harsh Vardhan and his counterparts from six states which have been severely affected by the pandemic, Tope told reporters here.

"If every state starts floating global tender, vaccine manufacturers will benefit. The Union government should review the total vaccine requirement in the country and float a common tender," he said.

"There should not be any unhealthy competition between states...It would not look good," Tope added.

The Centre last month asked the states to buy vaccines directly from the market for the inoculation of people in the 18-44 years age group. It will buy 50 percent production of Indian vaccine manufacturers and distribute it to states for inoculation of the above 45 age group, the Centre said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)