Even as the Central Government a day before announced to cover the entire 18-plus population from next month under vaccination drive against COVID-19, Punjab on Tuesday raised an alarm by claiming that only a day’s stock of vaccine is left in the State.
“The situation is alarming with only one day of stock of vaccine left, while the Central Government has also announced the vaccination of all 18-plus population to be commenced from May 1, 2021,” said the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu.
Sidhu said that the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has already raised the issue of shortage of COVID-19 vaccine in Punjab during the virtual meeting with the Centre and demanded immediate supplies of vaccines and quick approval for two new Oxygen plants in the State amid concerns over depleting stocks of both.
He said that the Punjab Government has a strong health infrastructure and the capacity to vaccinate at least three lakh patients in a day through more than 3,000 Government Health Centres. “But due to lesser supply of vaccine from the Centre, Punjab Government is not able to achieve the target of vaccination of two lakh persons per day,” he added.
Notably, due to shortage of vaccine, nearly 20 percent government-run centres have to close down. The state had sought 15 lakh doses of vaccines — both Covishield and Covaxin, but it has received just two lakh doses.
So far, about 23.4 lakh persons were administered the COVID-19 vaccine in Punjab-which amounts to about 10 percent of the state’s population.
Till date, as many as 1,69,268 healthcare workers have been inoculated with the first dose and 81,104 with the second dose; 3,14,427 frontline warriors with the first dose and 72,845 with the second dose.