Vaccine shortage: Inoculation for people above 18 years unlikely in Andhra Pradesh
Vijayawada: With no availability of fresh stocks of Covid-19 vaccine, the Andhra Pradesh government may not administer jab to the people aged between 18 and 45 years from May 1 onwards except continuing the ongoing programme to the already targeted beneficiaries with the existing doses.
Unlike the earlier practice of launching a vaccination programme for healthcare workers, frontline workers, people aged between 45 and 60 years by setting up Covid Vaccination Centres and fixing time schedule between 9 am to 5 pm, there are no such arrangements for Saturday. However, registration for the jab by the people aged between 18 and 45 years on the CoWIN portal, is going on.
The state received three lakh doses of Covishield and one lakh doses of Covaxin in the last three days and they were administered to the targeted beneficiaries mainly those aged above 45 years as the second dose. The state government is very particular to complete the administration of both the first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccine to all the targeted beneficiaries before taking up the vaccination drive for the new batch of beneficiaries. So, it intends to complete the exercise with the available stocks of vaccines.
Though the top brass of health authorities reviewed the vaccination programme virtually on Friday evening, there was no word of vaccination for the people aged between 18 and 45 years from Saturday onwards.
Health authorities from the districts maintain that their top priority is to use the available vaccine doses to the targeted beneficiaries and admit having no clarity on administering jab to the new batch of beneficiaries.
A top health official said, “There may not be any vaccination programme for the people aged between 18 and 45 years from Saturday onwards in the state as we are not having fresh stocks of vaccine. However, the vaccination will continue for the already targeted beneficiaries with the available doses of the jab.”
As the Centre is allocating four to five lakh doses of both varieties of vaccine every week, the state health authorities are optimistic to get fresh stocks of vaccine to administer to the new batch of beneficiaries.
