Shortage of vaccines may disrupt the vaccination drive of 18+

Bengaluru: The vaccination drive for all this between 18 and 44 years from May 1 may be disrupted as there is a shortage of Covid-19 vaccines.

Dr Rajani MH, deputy director, mental health, department of health and family welfare informed that the government has placed an order for 1 crore Covishield vaccines with Serum Institute of India (SII) but it is yet to receive them. She said that they have not given the exact date of delivery.

Chief secretary, P Ravi Kumar said, “Having placed the order for 1 crore doses, the scheme of vaccinating people between 18 and 44 years will begin as soon as the company starts supplying to the state. We’ll continue the drive for 45+ even after May 1 as scheduled.”

The bureaucrats sounded cautious, whereas, health minister K Sudhakar said that things are under control and the fourth phase of vaccination from May 1 will go on smoothly and there won’t be any shortage of vaccines. He added, “We have 3.5 lakh doses as of today and 4 lakh more will reach the state by Wednesday night.”

Need 3-3.5 crore vaccine doses for 18-45 age group

Health department officials stated that they may not be able to meet the demand for vaccines from May 1 unless they get fresh stocks by Thursday. They said, “We need 3-3.5 crore doses to cover this win the 18-45 age group. One can easily assess how much we need daily to cover this group in the next 2-3 months.”

Matters are getting worse as majority of the private hospitals have refused to take part in the fourth phase of the drive due to severe shortage of healthcare staff as the cases are increasing. They have suggested the government avail the services of non-governmental organisations involved in health-related activities and paramedical staff to administer the vaccine.

Moreover, some private hospitals have already stopped registration on the CoWin website due to shortage of vaccines. Dr HM Prasanna, president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association said, “We stopped in registrations and are asking people to walk in and take a chance. While we need at least 10 vials of vaccine every day for the number of people coming in, the government has provided us with 3-4 vials.”

Even though the registration of all those above 18 opened on Co-Win portal on Wednesday at 4 pm, many people complained that the website crashed. Some people also posted about the glitch on social media. They said, “CoWin portal is not working. It says only the 45-plus can register.”

Sudhakar confirmed that it was only a temporary glitch. He said, “When a lot of people log on at the same time, like on examination results day, it’s bound to cause an overload.”

On the other hand, some health officials said that people above 45 years are worried that they may miss their second dose.