Bhubaneswar: Less than one per cent of 18-plus age group has had two jabs of COVID vaccine

De to shortage of Covaxin only around 0.20 per cent people in the 18-44 age group in the city have received their two doses of Covaxin in the last one month.
For representational purposes (Photo | PTI)
For representational purposes (Photo | PTI)

BHUBANESWAR: Less than one per cent of the Capital city's population in the 18-44 age group have been able to get the two doses of vaccine so far even as the inoculation drive for this category has been continuing uninterrupted since May 1.

According to reports of the Health and Family Welfare department, due to shortage of Covaxin only around 0.20 per cent (pc) people in the 18-44 age group in the city have received their two doses of Covaxin in the last one month.

The number of beneficiaries in this age group who have received their first dose stands at around 31.5 pc (1,62,873 people) compared to 104 pc in the 45+ age group.

Sources in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said though the civic body has set a target to vaccinate 5.17 lakh people in the age group, a little over 900 citizens had completed their two rounds of vaccination till June 3.

"Of the 9.74 lakh doses of Covaxin received for the Capital, we have already used 8.43 lakh doses. Around 95 pc of the remaining 1.31 lakh doses are meant for vaccination of 45+ age group," said a senior BMC official dealing with the vaccination programme in the city. 

With the vaccine stock depleting, less than 400 doses are now being administered to beneficiaries of the age group in the city, he said. “Though we are expecting fresh supplies by June 8, we are not sure of the quantity of doses we will receive,” he said and added that as many of the beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group have already completed their 28-day minimum lock-in period, inadequate supply may create a huge backlog.

To reduce the backlog, BMC has decided to launch a special drive to administer the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine to beneficiaries in the age group who had received their first dose on May 3, 4 and 5. The two-day drive has been planned to be carried out on June 8 and 9, informed BMC Additional Commissioner Laxmikant Sethi.  

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