Vax drive for 45+ halted to inoculate 18+ in Sambalpur

SAMBALPUR: Amid shortage of vaccine doses, Sambalpur district administration on Monday evening decided to put on hold vaccination of 45+ age group till it received additional and adequate supply. The available limited doses will be used to inoculate 18+ age group from Tuesday at 15 centres in the city.Out of 80 designated centres, vaccination was on only at 8 session sites on Monday. The vaccination of the age group 18-44 years was scheduled to begin on Monday as per the State government decision but as the doses did not reach the district, it was decided to start on Tuesday.

Contacted, Additional District Medical Officer (Family Welfare), BC Dash said 5,500 doses of vaccine was received on Sunday which were distributed among the vax centres currently operational for administering second doses. “We are yet to receive the additional doses for vaccination of 18+ category. Hence, we decided to divert the limited stock available towards inoculation of 18+ till we receive more supply,” added Dash.

Official sources at the district health department informed that while the district received vaccine doses on weekly basis, the supply has become erratic now. On an average, Sambalpur is receiving 2,000-5,000 doses at intervals. Due to insufficient supply, the vaccines are not being stored and distributed among the centres forcing them to suspend vaccination drives on some days due to unavailability. This apart, the district is supposed to receive 20,900 doses for the vaccination of 18+ age group.

The district reported 302 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, against the highest single day spike of 641 cases reported on Sunday. While there are 4,287 active cases at present, 15,044 patients have already recovered. The district has reported 84 Covid deaths so far.