PUNE: Irregular vaccine supply threatens to severely disrupt the special drives civic bodies in the region have organised to cover marginalised groups, the poor and people with disabilities.
Both the PMC and the PCMC are currently taking vaccines to residents of slums and the bedridden. These are special drives — some relying on mobile units — as such beneficiaries are often unable to reach vaccination centres or are residents of congested neighbourhoods that immediately need vaccine cover.
The drives also need good supply. Officials from the PMC said the 21,000 Covishield doses they had received on Wednesday evening were completely used up by Thursday evening.
In Pimpri Chinchwad, PCMC officials said special-drive beneficiaries are now being accommodated in regular vaccine queues due to shortages. PCMC chief Rajesh Patil said that vaccine outreach programmes have been affected due to the weak supply.
Sanjay Deshmukh, assistant director (medical), Pune circle, said region officials are currently helpless as supply is sent from the Centre.
“The only consolation is we have been told that supply to private and civic sites (statewide) will improve from August. Small hospitals seeking less than 6,000 Covishield and 2,880 Covaxin doses will get their supplies from Friday,” Deshmukh said.
He added that another vaccine batch for the month is expected on Friday evening.
For Friday, the PCMC is set to hold Covishield drives from 63 sites for the 18-plus group. Four sites will host Covaxin drives.
On Thursday 59,130 beneficiaries were vaccinated across Pune district. The number, however, is likely to drop on Friday due to shortages.
