Vaccine stocks exhausted in Visakhapatnam

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

April 11, 2021 03:52 pm | Updated 03:52 pm IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases, one of the COVID-19 vaccination centres, wears a deserted look, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on April 10, 2021.

Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases, one of the COVID-19 vaccination centres, wears a deserted look, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on April 10, 2021.

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.

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 The Hindu on April 11.

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.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.