KOLHAPUR: Over 18,000 beneficiaries, mostly frontline workers and healthcare workers, from Kolhapur city are yet to take their second dose of the Covid vaccine.
In the district, the number of beneficiaries with the second dose due is almost four times more than the number of the people with the second dose due in the city. The number of people in the distric,t who have received the first jab, has crossed the 10 lakh- mark.
In the last three days, the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC)-run vaccine centres have run out of vaccine stock. There are fewer chances that the vaccine stock will arrive in a day or two as the state government announced on Wednesday that there will be no vaccination for the next two days due to vaccine shortage.
Rajesh Tope, the health minister, said since the central government has taken over the vaccination drive, the state has no role to play in making vaccines available.
Amol Mane, the vaccination nodal officer of KMC said, “We desperately need vaccines as over 18,000 people are yet to take their second dose. We are approached by thousands of beneficiaries every day and we are sending them back. To avoid chaos at vaccination centres, we have announced the closure of the centres temporarily. We received just 1,500 doses for the week as against our demand of 20,000 per day.”
The district administration received 17,000 vaccines a week ago, which was the highest in recent months. There is a shortage of vaccines in private hospitals too. Many from Kolhapur district, who have their second dose due, are visiting the centres in nearby districts.
“We utilised the stock completely as and when received. We have the largest turnout for vaccination in the state and therefore have no previously supplied stock with us,” said Mane.
