Only 19k Covishield doses in stock in Odisha; Vaccination completely halted in 16 districts

Bhubaneswar: The COVID-19 inoculation drive was completely halted in over half of Odisha due to shortage of Covishield vaccine.

The vaccination has been shut in 16 districts for today due to stock out situation. Currently, the availability of Covaxin doses is more than 3 lakh and only 19,000 Covishield doses are in stock in Odisha, for which the vaccines are being administered at only 114 sessions sites across the State, of which 72 centres are in Bhubaneswar, informed State Family Welfare Director Bijay Panigrahi today.

The drive will resume after the consignment of Covishield vaccine arrives here from the Centre today, he said.

Today, 1 lakh Covishield doses are expected to reach Odisha.

Earlier, the State Health & Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das had urged to Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan for urgent supply of Covishield vaccine doses to the state.

Read: Odisha Urges Centre For Supply Of Additional 6 Lakh Covishield Doses For June

“Though, we have already received the vaccine quota for the month of June, we had requested to the Centre to allocate additional 6 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine to ensure smooth management of vaccination drive in the State. However, we are yet to receive it till today,” the top government official said adding, “As much as the doses of Covishield are expected to reach the State, it will be insufficient for the beneficiaries of different age groups.”

The State is targeting to complete the vaccination ahead of imminent COVID-19 third wave.

“However, it depends on availability of the vaccines in the State,” Panigrahi further said.