COVID-19 vaccination drive halted at 178 centres in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: The COVID-19 vaccination drive was halted at 178 vaccination centres in four districts of Uttarakhand on Saturday as stocks of vaccines ran out and were resumed on Sunday after officials went and sourced more doses.

The vaccines stock in four districts of Dehradun, Chamoli, Nainital, and Tehri had exhausted on Saturday due to which the booths suspended the vaccination drive.

State Immunization Officer Dr Kuldeep Singh Martolia told ANI that vaccination work has been affected on Saturday due to a shortage of vaccines.

"Today the state has got a stock of 1.38 lakh vaccines, it will be available for two to three days depending on the need of the state, today the vaccine dose is being sent to all the district," said Singh.

The State Immunization Officer said that the state has demanded 10 lakh vaccine doses from the Center out of which five lakh doses have been requested on a priority basis. There are 697 vaccination centres in the state.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Om Prakash held a meeting with the officials of the state health department and district magistrates (DM) to discuss the COVID-19 situation at the Secretariat.

He said since COVID-19 cases are increasing all over the country, the state will have to be proactive in preventing the spread of the virus and instructed all the District Magistrates to be thoroughly prepared to cope up with the situation.

The Chief Secretary instructed the officials to ramp up testing in all the districts and ensure 100 per cent testing in containment zones. He added that adherence to social distancing and COVID-appropriate behaviour in crowded areas including markets, hotels, restaurants should also be ensured.