E-Paper
Pune vax drive back on track with 32k doses received on Monday
PUNE After a two-day lull for Covid-19 vaccinations at Pune Municipal Corporation centres (PMC), the city has finally received 32,000 doses of Covishield
PUNE After a two-day lull for Covid-19 vaccinations at Pune Municipal Corporation centres (PMC), the city has finally received 32,000 doses of Covishield.
On Sunday and Monday, the centres had to be shut due to a shortage of Covishield and on Monday, only Covaxin shots were given at selective centres. On Monday evening, the PMC received Covishield doses which will now speed up the vaccination process on Tuesday.
The city saw 54,136 get the vaccine on Sunday across age groups, as private hospitals continued to vaccinate. Of the 54,136 doses administered on Sunday, the majority were from the 18-45 year-age group; 29,964 got the first shot and 1,977 got the second shot.
The huge gap in demand and supply is leading to a shortage of vaccines in major cities and July could see this gap widen further, as most the 45-plus age group, who got their first shot in April, are now due for their second shot in July, completing the 84-day period in between.
In addition to this, the 18-plus age group and pregnant women who are now eligible for the vaccine will also be in line for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Assistant health officer PMC, Dr Vaishali Jadhav, in charge of the Covid vaccination drive, said, “We have received over 32,000 doses of Covishield which will again boost the vaccination in the city. On Sunday and Monday our centres were shut for Covishield beneficiaries as we did not have any vaccines left.”
Rubal Agarwal, additional municipal commissioner said, from Tuesday vaccination for 18-plus, for both doses, and both vaccines, would begin at 197 centres within the PMC jurisdiction.
Earlier to this, PMC had witnessed record vaccinations in the city as over 202 Covid vaccination sites were operational on June 29. This shortage of vaccines is also likely to affect PMC’s other vaccination drives, like vaccination drives in the slums where vaccine hesitancy and lack of internet literacy has hampered vaccinations, or the “Vaccine on Wheels” initiative which vaccinates the most vulnerable.
