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Phase 3 of mass vaccination drive likely to be delayed as States, UTs scramble for COVID-19 vaccines
The Union government earlier this month opened up vaccination for the entire adult population starting from May 1, but several states are facing supply constraints.
Highlights
- Maharashtra, Delhi and other states are struggling to acquire additional COVID-19 vaccines
- The people above the age of 45 will continue to get inoculated
New Delhi: Ahead of the third phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, several states and union territories have issued notices informing the people that due to the shortage of COVID-19 vaccines the vaccination for the 18-44 age group is likely to be delayed.
The Union government earlier this month opened up vaccination for the entire adult population starting from May 1, but several states are facing supply constraints.
No vaccination against COVID-19 will be held in Mumbai for the next three days as the existing stock of doses has been exhausted, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday (April 30) evening.
The vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group, which was supposed to start from May 1 earlier, was likely to be deferred too, it said in a statement.
The Delhi government decided to procure 67 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine, three lakh of which will be delivered by May 3, after its Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday the city currently doesn't have vaccines for the 18-45 age group whose immunisation is set to start on Saturday.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the state will start inoculation of those in the 18-45 age group against COVID-19 "as and when" vaccine doses are available.
The vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group will not start on May 1 in Madhya Pradesh as the manufacturers can not supply enough vaccine doses in time, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday.
Odisha is facing acute shortage of Covishield vaccines as well and are forcing people to wait for a second dose of the jab for a week.
Against the requirement of 6.3 lakh doses of Covishield to give a second dose to beneficiaries, the state is having only 1.1 lakh doses of this variety.
Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered across the country has crossed 15.21 crore with over 20 lakh shots being given till 8 pm on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said.
Also, the total registrations on CoWIN portal for phase three vaccination has crossed 2.28 crore in just two days, according to data till 9:30 pm, it said.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country stands at 15,21,05,563 according to the 8 pm provisional report.