Ludhiana left with just 2, 200 doses for Sunday

The vaccination drive in the district continued to face hiccups due to the shortage of vaccines. A number of government centres had to stop the drive on Saturday afternoon as these ran out of the vaccine stock. Residents were asked to return and inquire again on Sunday. In all, 13, 085 eligible residents got jabbed on Saturday while 53,4,027 residents have been vaccinated in the district till now.

As per the health department officials, they are left with only around 2, 200 doses of vaccine for Sunday and there is no certainty over the arrival of fresh stock. While the plans to vaccinate residents above the age of 18 have already been delayed due to shortage of vaccine doses, the administration is also struggling to meet the requirements for residents aged above 45.

The vaccination drive will not take place in rural areas and sub-divisions, and will only be carried out at limited sites in the city areas on Sunday.

Earlier on April 27 too, the department had run out of stock and only 2, 949 people got the jab against the daily target of vaccinating 18,000 residents.

Due to shortage of both the vaccines, only the second dose of Covaxin will be administered at four government centres on Sunday, while Covishield will be administered at nine sites. Some of the vaccination sites for Sunday include Civil Hospital, civil surgeon’s office complex, Mother Child Hospital near Vardhman mills, Model Gram dispensary near old Krishna Mandir, urban primary health centres in Dugri and Jawaddi, Haibowal dispensary, among other points.

Before the shortage disrupted operations, the district health department had been conducting the vaccination drive in over 300 government/centres/sites in the district. The shortage had forced the health department to suspend the supply of vaccines to private hospitals in mid-April.

Residents visiting the government centres for vaccination have also been facing a harrowing time.

Sumita, a resident of Model Town, said, “I went to inquire about the vaccination at Model Town dispensary for my father around 2:30pm on Saturday but the staff said they ran out of stock around 1:30pm. They asked us to come on Sunday. The administration has been encouraging residents to get vaccinated, but they have failed to make the required arrangements.”

District immunisation officer Dr Puneet Juneja said, “The supply of vaccine was not received on Saturday. We have around 2, 200 doses for Sunday and are in contact with the state government for supply, but there is no certainty as of now.”