Erratic supply slows down vaccination drive in Majha

Erratic supply of doses from the state government has slowed down the vaccination drive in the Majha region comprising Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarn Taran districts.

Health department officials say people are not visiting government centres as they are confused over vaccine availability. On Thursday, only 1,970 vaccine doses were administered to beneficiaries in Amritsar while other 4,261 were inoculated on Friday after the district received fresh stock of vaccine.

“The vaccination pace had slowed down in Amritsar due to shortage but we are now getting the supply. Earlier, more than 8,000 beneficiaries were being inoculated daily but the count had dipped to 2,000 to 3,000. The number will improve once we get supply for inoculating the 18-45 age category,” said Amritsar assistant civil surgeon Dr Amarjit Singh.

Only 21,746 beneficiaries in the 18-45 age group have been inoculated in Amritsar till now.

On Friday, only 2,124 doses were administered in Tarn Taran, 1,848 in Gurdaspur and around 1,000 in Pathankot.

“On an average, more than 6,000 people were being administered daily, but now the count has dipped to 1,500 to 3,000 in Gurdaspur. Due to vaccine shortage, we had to send back the beneficiaries and now they are confused over its availability,” said Gurdaspur immunisation officer Arvind Manchanda, adding that people are also not coming forward to take the jab as Covid-19 cases are declining in the past few days.

In Tarn Taran, only 8,487 beneficiaries in the 18+ category have been inoculated so far, said immunisation officer Varinder Kaur. Situation is improving and villagers are also taking vaccine shots now. Also, vaccination camps are being set up for shopkeepers and vulnerable groups, she said.