Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give priority to his state while allocating the coronavirus vaccine, citing a high death rate and level of comorbidities.

Singh told Modi that Punjab’s mortality rate was higher despite its low case load, and therefore, the state needed special dispensation in the allocation of the vaccine, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.

The Punjab chief minister said that the vaccines currently under consideration could be best used to prevent serious illness among the vulnerable groups.

Singh also requested Modi to expand the definition of frontline workers for vaccination and include administrative officials and the people responsible for essential tasks. “While the definition of healthcare worker was relatively precise and Punjab had compiled data based on it, but the definition of frontline workers lacks clarity,” Singh said. “As of now it seems to include only security forces (Police, Armed Forces) and Municipal Workers, with some mention of primary school teachers.”

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The Punjab chief minister sought clarity on whether the Centre will entirely fund the vaccination process. He asked the Centre to offer clarification about the basis for the identification of priority groups for sequential immunisation phases.

Singh also asked the Centre whether the people who have been infected with the coronavirus once would be eligible for vaccination. “Some reports have implied that persons previously infected with COVID-19 may not receive vaccination,” Singh said. He added that the basis of such recommendations was unclear. “Since the policy appears to differentially categorise people who may already have been infected, it would be helpful to have the recommendations backed by international scientific consensus before development and implementation of such a policy, even if it may result in more doses being available for others,” he said.

Punjab has reported more than 1.5 lakh coronavirus cases and 4,916 deaths so far, according to data from the Union health ministry.

Modi, at an all-party meeting last week, had said that experts believe a coronavirus vaccine could be available in India in the next few weeks. The health ministry had said at the meeting that the vaccine will be first given to about one crore health workers from both the public and private sectors, and then to about two crore front-line workers, according to PTI.

India has not signed a deal for a coronavirus vaccine yet so it is unclear when it will be available for use in the country. Availability of the vaccine in India will be subject to approval by domestic regulators, and the Indian government agreeing to purchase them.