GB Nagar reduces vaccination sites to just 16 as supply runs low

Twenty seven-year-old Deepak Singh, was a worried man on Monday afternoon

Twenty seven-year-old Deepak Singh, was a worried man on Monday afternoon. On Friday, this Sector 135 resident booked on the Co-WIN portal a vaccination slot for Monday at the community health centre (CHC) in Bisrakh. But come Monday, no vaccination was taking place there and he had to return home disappointed.

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Thirty-two-year-old Govind Paswan, who resides in Sector 22, also could not get his first dose vaccine at the employees’ state insurance corporation (ESIC) hospital in Sector 24, despite booking a slot there for Monday.

The statewide shortage of vaccines affected the inoculation drive in Gautam Budh Nagar district on Monday as shots were available at only 16 government centres in the district, as opposed to at least 42 till last week. With the limited stock of vaccines, the district health department could administer only 3,868 shots on Monday – of which 1,805 were first doses. The situation is unlikely to improve this week, the district health officials said, as the state is only supplying limited quantities currently.

Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said with the present supply, it will be impossible to run the vaccination drive at full swing. “At present, the district health department is left with around 10,000 doses of vaccines. With this available stock, we can run the drive for two more days, and that too not full-fledged. However, we’ve sent our requisition for vaccines to the state and hope to get adequate supply very soon. After that, we’ll be able to restart the drive in the district at full swing,” he said.

Echoing similar views, Dr Neeraj Tyagi, said till adequate vials arrive in the district, the vaccination will take place with reduced number of booths, about 16 of them. “The reduction or increase in the number of booths is directly proportional to the stock of vaccines. There is nothing to panic about as getting slots on the Co-WIN portal is not in our control. Notice has been displayed at all booths where the vaccination is not taking place about the drive being curtailed on account of a supply shortage,” he said.

Tyagi further said so far 1,737,103 people have been administered the vaccine in the district. “While 1,408,011 have taken the first shot and as many as 3,29,092 have received both the doses,” he said.