Lucknow Covid vaccination figures dip, 4,956 beneficiaries get the jab

Across Uttar Pradesh, 67,603 beneficiaries got the vaccine doses at 2,976 vaccination sites, according to the data available

Covid vaccination dipped in the state capital on Wednesday amid a focus on routine immunisation.

A health worker administers Covid-19 vaccine to a woman in Lucknow. (PTI FILE PHOTO)

In all, 4,956 beneficiaries got the Covid vaccine doses in Lucknow on Wednesday, the least in the past two months. The day’s numbers included 32% (1616) at private hospitals.

In the state, 67,603 beneficiaries got the vaccine doses at 2,976 vaccination sites, according to the data available.

On Thursday, too, the number may not rise much, owing to the vaccine availability situation.

“We shall be vaccinating over 16,000 beneficiaries (in Lucknow) on Thursday. The number might go up if more vaccine is made available,” said Dr Sanjay Bhatnagar, the chief medical officer of Lucknow.

Lucknow has a target of 23,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses per day. Till now, the maximum beneficiaries vaccinated in a single day here is 28,131 earlier in June.

The health department had decided to focus on routine immunisation on Wednesday.

Booking of slots for the Covid vaccination in Lucknow for Thursday opened at 74 vaccination sites till late on Wednesday night, most of which were for people above 45 years of age. On an average, one booth can vaccinate 100 beneficiaries.

The state health department had aimed to administer 10 lakh (1 million) doses statewide every day in July.

“In the state, over 5,00,000 additional Covid vaccine doses have been distributed apart from the stock already available with the districts, ” said a senior health official who did not wish to be named.

“The central government is supplying vaccine doses to all the states, including UP. Once we receive the vaccine stock from the Centre, the vaccination drive will be increased accordingly,” he said.