KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) is likely to feel the shortage of Covid-19 vaccines if the demand for doses placed by the civic body is not met by Monday.
So far, around 91% of the beneficiaries in Kolhapur city have received the first dose and 64% of the eligible population above 18 years are fully vaccinated. However, the stock of vaccine with the KMC was on the verge of exhaustion on Sunday.
The city and district is witnessing huge turnout of beneficiaries for the last five to six days, but on Sunday the turnout was less.. In Kolhapur city around 2,400 were vaccinated and in the entire district around 6,200 got the jab.
Amol Mane, KMC’s vaccination nodal officer, said, “If the doses demanded from the Kolhapur zilla parishad does not arrive on Sunday, we will have to stop the vaccination process. We have very limited stock of Covishield vaccines in store, but the stock of Covaxin is quite adequate. Most of the people with first dose due are from the age group of 18 to 44 years. Most of the elderly population is fully vaccinated.”
In Kolhapur district, 89% eligible population has been vaccinated for the first dose and 49% is fully vaccinated. The recent days have seen increase in turnout mainly due to fear of new Omicron variant, the cases of which are increasing in Maharashtra as well as neighbouring Karnataka state.
Also, the turnout is propelled by the compulsion of both doses to avail services like transport and access to public offices. The administration has set a vaccination target of 30 lakh people above the age of 18.
