If you are planning to get COVID-19 vaccine at a private hospital here on Monday, it would be a good idea to call ahead for a confirmation as a few private health facilities have run out of jabs.
This reporter called up 14 hospitals and four stated that they have not been provided with fresh stock. Two others said they were not sure if vaccination will be provided on Monday and could give a correct idea only in the morning.
On Saturday, Telangana joined several states in flagging a vaccine shortage to the Centre with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar writing to the Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, stating that the State was left with only 5.66 lakh doses of COVID vaccine doses which would last three days at the maximum. Mr Somesh Kumar has requested at least 30 lakh more doses for the State for the next 15 days.
Sources in State Health department said no response has been received yet.
Health officials said priority is given to government-run vaccination centres as far as supply of doses is concerned and that they are closely monitoring the stock to assess when they will run out of it at government centres.
Vaccination paused
Three hospitals in Gachibowli had to stop vaccination on Sunday. “We were not provided with fresh stock, so immunisation was not organised on Sunday. We can’t say anything about tomorrow either,” said an employee of one of the hospitals. A staff member of a major hospital said the vaccination drive will not be arranged till Thursday.
Sources in corporate hospitals said those who took the first dose at their facility have called and enquired why they were not providing the second dose. “We are closely monitoring the stock availability. Since Ugadi is this week, fewer people might turn up for vaccination. If the State is not provided with some more stock, there might be a problem when the usual high turnout resumes,” sources in the Health department said.
The number of beneficiaries across the State has risen from around 60,000 a day in the beginning of April to over one lakh now.
On Sunday, 1,62,385 beneficiaries received the jab. Of them, 1,53,295 beneficiaries received the first dose while 9,090 took the second dose.
The net vaccine consumption in the State was 21,23,510 of which 20,61,395 doses were administered. That puts the vaccine wastage at 2.93%.
