Stocks run low at Delhi’s public centres despite push for shots

The Union government’s CoWin dashboard on Wednesday showed that 53 vaccination centres were operational in the city, out of which only 10 were government-run where jabs are offered for free, while the remaining 43 were private centres.

The Capital is facing a shortage of vaccine doses across major government centres, making it difficult for people to take jabs at a time when emphasis is being laid on bridging the lag in second shots and particularly booster shots to prevent a potential outbreak in the wake of rising cases in China and a few other countries, according to officials and a spot check by HT.

A spot check at some of these centres showed that most were either shut or turning people away. Even in some big state government hospitals, slots for vaccinations were not available. (REUTERS)

The Union government’s CoWin dashboard on Wednesday showed that 53 vaccination centres were operational in the city, out of which only 10 were government-run where jabs are offered for free, while the remaining 43 were private centres. On Tuesday, only eight government-run jabs centres were available on CoWin.

A spot check at some of these centres showed that most were either shut or turning people away. Even in some big state government hospitals, slots for vaccinations were not available.

A senior official of the northwest district said that most districts, barring some centres in the central and New Delhi, have not received vaccine stocks for over a month, mainly due to poor demand. “The last stocks we received were in mid-November. We have sent out requests to the health department,” said the official, asking not to be named.

A senior doctor at Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, which is run by the Union government, said that vaccinations were not available in their centres for at least two weeks. The doctor said that the low demand for booster doses was probably impacting the stock being allotted to the Capital.

“Maybe people prefer to take vaccine shots from dedicated vaccination centres and not from hospitals to avoid any seasonal infections. But our centres don’t have the required stock of vaccines for some time now,” the doctor said.

Though the hospital did not officially confirm this, when HT sought an appointment for a booster shot on RML’s Covid helpline number, no slot was granted citing “non-availability”.

Prashanti Nath, a 36-year-old resident of Gol Market, was unable to get a precautionary dose at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on Wednesday. “I tried booking a slot on Aarogya Setu, but could not find a centre so I thought of trying my luck by walking in. They said they will call me back in case they receive new stock,” said Nath.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director at Delhi government’s Lok Nayak Hospital said, “We have vaccine stock.” However, Lok Nayak Hospital was not visible on CoWin for online appointments.

A Delhi government spokesperson said on Wednesday that they have requested the Centre to increase Delhi’s vaccine allotment. “We have requested the Centre to increase Delhi’s vaccine allotment so that people face any problems in getting their doses in the coming days,” he said.

The Union health ministry did not respond to queries on vaccine stocks in Delhi.

Delhi government data shows that, till December 21, only 24% of the city’s population had taken booster shots. Data shows that maximum inoculation for the third dose was among health care and front-line workers (62%), followed by people aged over 60 (48%). The lowest was among people in the 18-59 age cohort (19%).

Delhi government data shows that between May and July this year, the initial period after the government made precautionary doses free in their centres, the Capital saw around 25,000-28,000 boosters administered a day. Currently, however, just around 800 to 1,400 people are being vaccinated with boosters a day, according to Delhi government data.

Health experts said it is imperative that people take their booster doses, especially since cases were on a rise in several countries.

“Data shows that less than 30% people have taken their booster doses and the government must take measures to improve coverage,” said Dr Sahajanand Prasad Singh, president of Indian Medical Association.