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Amid vaccine shortage, no inoculation in Maharashtra’s Pimpri-Chinchwad today
Maharashtra was among the states that on Thursday warned they would run out of coronavirus vaccines in the next few days and were forced to shut inoculation centres
Municipal authorities in Maharashtra’s Pimpri Chinchwad on Friday said they have halted the Covid-19 inoculation drive in the city due to a shortage of vaccines.
“We are trying to procure doses. Once they are available, vaccination will resume,” said Pavan Salve, additional health officer, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)
PCMC commissioner Rajesh Patil that they run 60% of the 80 vaccination centres in the industrial city near Pune. Municipal authorities in Pune said they were continuing the inoculation and have 25,000 vaccine doses left.
To be sure, while overall supplies may be there at the state level, individual centres may run out of stock on account of how the states manage their replenishment.
At the 427 centres across the Pune district, 54,059 doses were administered on Thursday. In Pune city, 18,480 people were inoculated on Thursday at 130 centres.The world’s wealthiest countries are getting vaccinated 25 times faster.
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Sayali Wagh, 56, a local resident who had to return home without getting her jab said: “A notice board was placed outside the centre stating vaccination will not be done... Officials at the centre said that they are awaiting the doses and asked me to come tomorrow.”
A civic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “We are procuring excess doses from hospitals to supply vaccines to hospitals which have zero doses.”
Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar said they have received over 577,000 doses of vaccines.
“...125 vaccination sites... are actively inoculating beneficiaries. We had 45,000 doses. And there are 25,000 doses remaining with us so far,” said Kumar. “Some hospitals in the city may not have the doses, but there was enough stock with Pune Municipal Corporation to continue smooth inoculation.”
Maharashtra was among the states that on Thursday warned they would run out of coronavirus vaccines in the next few days and were forced to shut inoculation centres.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan reiterated there was no shortage, and the country has over 43 million doses in stock or in the pipeline. He called for “an end to fear-mongering”.
