Maharashtra vaccine shortage sparks worry over 3rd wave

Three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced universal adult vaccination across the country to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, Maharashtra -- the state which has conducted the highest number of vaccinations – faces an acute shortage of vaccine doses.

Three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced universal adult vaccination across the country to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, Maharashtra -- the state which has conducted the highest number of vaccinations – faces an acute shortage of vaccine doses.

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The Centre announced free vaccination for all adults starting June 21, which led to a record 8.5 million doses administered that day across the country. Maharashtra administered 552,921 doses the following day, its single-highest number till that day. However, unavailability of doses in the ongoing mass immunisation programme has sparked concerns about staving off the third wave effectively and reviving economic activities, many of which are dependent on vaccination as per the state’s unlock guidelines.

On Tuesday, only 263,152 people were vaccinated across 2,734 centres in the state. “It is due to the shortage of vaccines from the central government that many of our vaccination centres in Mumbai and Maharashtra are closed,” said Mumbai city guardian minister Aslam Shaikh.

Though Maharashtra remains the state which has vaccinated the highest number of people – 37 million till date; its capacity, health minister Rajesh Tope told the Assembly last week, is 1 million a day – several districts have been forced to halt their vaccination on certain days after running out of vaccine supply. For instance, on July 11, other than Gondia, districts of Hingoli, Sindhudurg, Osmanabad and Wardha recorded zero vaccinations.

“The cumulative supply of vaccines has improved compared to previous months. However, the vials are now supplied in lesser quantities on a weekly basis which is slowing down the vaccination process as the demand has increased drastically. Though we have a capacity to vaccinate [over] 1 million people daily we can’t meet our target due to the shortages. We are failing to meet the growing demands,” said Dr Archana Patil, director, Maharashtra Health Services.

The state received 700,000 doses four days ago. Last week, the state passed a resolution seeking 30 million doses a month from the Centre. Tope said that the increased doses would help expedite the vaccination drive, which was “necessary for economic revival”.

The financial capital of the country too is feeling the pinch.

On July 12, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had only 120,000 vials of Covishield and 40,000 vials of Covaxin. The civic body has the capacity to inoculate 100,000 people daily.

In Prabhadevi, citizens lining up from 4 am onwards on Tuesday for their shot were told that the centre had only 25 doses for walk-ins. Similarly, in Palghar, 2,000 citizens lined up for vaccination, but only 500 doses were available.

“Last week, we got 85,000 doses of Covishield and on Monday, we got another 35,000 doses. As per protocols, the central government will procure 75% of the produced vaccines and the remaining 25% of the vaccines will be given to the private hospitals. So, we can’t do anything about this as the procurement process is centrally monitored,” said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, BMC.

An analysis of data provided by the state health department shows that between June 18 and 30, 5.2 million people were vaccinated in Maharashtra. The number fell to 4.5 million over the following 12 days, between July 1 and 12. Officials attribute the dip to the disruption in the timely supply of vials to districts from the Union health ministry, which oversees the distribution of vaccines across the country.

Shortage of vaccines is also damaging the efforts made by district health officials (DHO) and ASHA workers to quell vaccine hesitancy.

Take the case of 67-year-old Sudarshan Bhede from Birsi village in Gondia. Bhede is among many residents of his village who hasn’t taken a single dose of anti-Covid-19 vaccines. On July 8, Parbhani Nene, a local ASHA worker, knocked on Bhede’s door and counselled him and his family members about the importance of vaccination.

“Bhede is a senior citizen with cardiac ailment which makes him vulnerable to the virus. But due to his scepticism over the efficiency of the vaccines, he avoided taking the shots along with his family members. But after an hour of counselling, he finally agreed for the vaccine. I helped them get vaccination slots on June 11,” said Nene.

But after travelling for two kilometres to reach the centre, they were informed that the vaccination drive was cancelled due to lack of vials. “I will again have to visit the family to convince them to visit the centre for vaccination. This is really discouraging,” she said.

Dr Ajay Davale, district health officer, Wardha, said they are getting a supply of only 10,000-14,000 vials [per consignment] which is inadequate to meet the rising demand. “On Monday, I got 13,000 vials and on the same day, we finished all the doses due to the high demand. With rising awareness, we are getting better responses but we don’t have vials. On Tuesday (July 13), we had zero vaccination as I don’t have a single vial,” he said.

Meanwhile, a few private hospitals like Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, and Shalby Hospital have procured Sputnik vaccine from the manufacturers directly. Dr Parag Rindani, regional head, Wockhardt Hospital they have enrolled 200 people for the first shot of the vaccine through the Co-WIN application.

Dr T Jacob John, virologist and retired professor at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, blamed the central government for lack of preparedness before giving the emergency approval for the use of the vaccines.

“In January, the Centre approved emergency use of Covishield. But even after seven months, districts are struggling to get vials. This shows how the authorities failed to estimate the demands in India. Despite rolling out nationwide mass immunisation programme, it is heartbreaking that many still continue to die of the infection, ”said Dr John.

Staving off the third wave

In the first 11 days of July, Maharashtra reported 88,130 Covid-19 cases amidst the looming fear of a third wave. As photos and videos on social media go viral showing with the relaxation of the lockdown, people are again violating the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour which could be the precursor for the third wave.

Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the state’s Covid-19 taskforce, said, “We need to focus on two things now— consistency in the supply of vaccines and breaking the hesitancy among people from the rural parts of the state. Double vaccination can lessen the impact of the third wave in the population.”

In the last week of June, state Food and Drug Administration Minister Rajendra Shingne stated that nearly 50 lakh people including five lakh children could be infected in Maharashtra in a possible third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Taking this into consideration, public health experts have raised the need to vaccinate as many people as possible before the third wave hits the state.

Dr Sanghamitra Gawde, civil surgeon of Ratnagiri said, “After the flattening of the pandemic curve, we were instructed to boost vaccination in June and July before we face the third wave. But now, the vaccination process is completely dependent on the availability of the vials.”

The Centre has so far provided 28,439,060 vaccine doses and the state government has purchased 2,510,730 doses, Tope told the Assembly last week.