The ‘Tika Utsav’, scheduled to begin across the country on April 11 was cancelled in Visakhapatnam district as the vaccine stocks were exhausted. The initial apathy of the people to get the jab, has turned into one of urgency amid the surging second wave.
Those who have had their first shot over a month ago are now worried whether they will be able to take the second dose on time.
A senior citizen of Marripalem VUDA Colony, who had his first dose at a private hospital near NAD Junction, was asked to wait for a couple of days on the plea of lack of stocks.
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Two weeks ago, a resident of Muralinagar, who went to a private hospital near Simhachalam, was politely told that they had run out of stock and fresh supply had to be sourced from the district authorities. He was asked to come after a couple of days.
A resident of Official Colony near KGH took the first dose a month ago at a private hospital near the colony. He approached the hospital on April 10 for the second dose but was told there was no stock. He is worried whether he will be able to take the second dose in the stipulated time.
Dr. P.V. Sudhakar, COVID-19 Special Officer for Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts, and Dr. P. Suryanarayana, DM & HO have confirmed that the vaccine stocks in the district have been exhausted, when contacted by
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When the concerns of the people were brought to his notice, Dr. Sudhakar said, “We expect fresh vaccine stocks to arrive in a couple of days. Those who took the first shot need not worry as a few days delay in taking the second dose is unlikely to reduce the efficacy of the vaccine.”
“There is no compulsion that a person, who has taken the first shot at a particular hospital, should take the second one at the same place. As the vaccine name, patient name, date of vaccination and schedule for the second dose are uploaded on COWIN app, the details can be accessed by all the hospitals,” he added.