VIJAYAWADA: With no stocks of the COVID-19 vaccine in Andhra Pradesh, the Tika Utsav was not conducted anywhere in the state on Monday. The health department is now waiting for fresh stocks of vaccine from the Centre to distribute to the districts.
In Srikakulam district, all the vaccine centres wore a deserted look, with staff informing people that there was no stock. Some people who came to get the second dose were unhappy with the development. The situation was similar in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts. No vaccinations were done in other districts also.
In Vijayawada at New Government Hospital, there were 150 doses left, which were administered to people above 60 on Monday morning. When contacted, a health department official monitoring the vaccination drive said there is no stock and they are expecting to receive some by Monday night or Tuesday morning.
When contacted by The New Indian Express, a senior official in the medical and health department said the Centre has agreed to send four lakh doses by Monday night.
Though Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote a letter to the Prime Minister seeking 25 lakh doses of the vaccine, there was no immediate response. Hence, on the first day of Tika Utsav, all the available doses -- less than one lakh -- were used.