KOCHI: Mass Covid-19 vaccination camps being conducted in Ernakulam district had to be suspended due to shortage of vaccine doses. According to district collector S Suhas, new batches of vaccines are scheduled to arrive on Monday. “Since vaccine shortage is being experienced across the state, we are also facing a slight problem. Therefore mass vaccination camps had to be suspended for two days.
We have almost 25,000 Covaxin doses available here, but we are short of Covishield vaccines. Since many people have taken the first dose of Covishield vaccine, there is an issue regarding the second dose. We hope that the issue will be resolved soon; the state health department is trying hard to source the doses from the Centre, and once they get it, we will able to resume full- fledged vaccination for all as planned,” said Suhas.
Meanwhile, many people who turned up at their nearest vaccination centres had to return disappointed due to lack of vaccines. “We turned up by 2 pm at the nearest primary health centre near Kakkanad, for the second dose of vaccination for my mother. However, due to lack of stock of vaccines, the staff turned us away,” said Sujitha P, a resident of Kakkanad.
In the wake of vaccine shortage, the district collector has urged people to confirm the availability of vaccines first, prior to visiting the centres, rather than crowding in front of the counters. According to health officials, on Friday, around 21,000 people were vaccinated in the district. As many as 158 vaccination centres have been set up in the district, and now, as per sources only less than 100 centres have vaccination stocks.”Once the vaccine doses arrive, priority will be given to provide the second dose to those above the age of 50 years,” said Suhas.