BHUBANESWAR: Shortage of vaccine has forced the State government to halt the inoculation drive in 24 districts on Monday. The State has a stock of only 40,460 doses of Covishield for which only 220 sessions in six districts have been planned.
The districts where vaccination will be conducted are Cuttack, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Sundargarh and Nabarangpur besides Bhubaneswar. Around 3.53 lakh doses of Covaxin are also in the stock. Apart from the Capital city, the vaccine is now available for the beneficiaries of the 18-44 years age group in Ganjam.
Since the next tranche of Covishield is scheduled to arrive on July 15, the districts dependent on it will have a stock-out of vaccine from July 13 to 15. Meanwhile, the State government has urged the Centre to supply the required doses of vaccines to prevent a stock-out situation.
“The Covishield allocation for July is 25.31 lakh doses against the requirement of 28.31 lakh second dose due for the month. We have requested the Ministry of Health to allocate an additional 15 lakh doses of Covishield for the State to manage vaccination sessions smoothly,” Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra said.