Karnataka suspends vaccination drive for 18-44 age group from May 14

BENGALURU: Following severe shortage of vaccines and supply constraints, Karnataka government on Wednesday night decided to suspend vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group at government facilities from May 14 until further notice. Private hospitals, however, will continue administering vaccine doses for all age groups.
The government, in a statement, said that it decided to utilize the existing stock of vaccines for those in the 45-plus age group and due for their second dose. "There is a dearth of vaccines. Hence, we're considering holding off the vaccination drive temporarily for the 18-44 age group," the statement added.
Therefore, all vaccines available with the state government - supplied by the Centre and procured directly by the state - will be utilized for vaccination of beneficiaries due for the second dose.
The order will also be applicable for those who have already booked appointment slots for vaccines.
"This order will be applicable for Covid vaccination at all government vaccination centres in the state," said a statement from the department of health and family welfare services.
Hours before the order was issued, Covid task force chief and deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan said there was no shortage of vaccines and they will continue with the drive for 45-plus without interruptions.
CM BS Yediyurappa, after a meeting with ministers and officials earlier in the day, had asked officials to "urgently address" the issue of shortage of vaccine in the state.
Vax crisis may persist for a couple of months
Chief secretary P Ravi Kumar indicated that the vaccination crisis is set to go on for a couple of months with the state receiving only 50% of its fortnightly quota from the Centre and the rest arriving days later, sending the inoculation programme into disarray. “The situation might ease after June,” he said.
He said the Union government had allocated 15 lakh doses to Karnataka for every fortnight, but the state was receiving only 8 lakh doses, including 90,000 of Covaxin, largely due to high demand from states and manufacturing constraints. “We are expecting the remaining (7 lakh) doses in the next 2-3 days,” he added.
Karnataka has placed orders with Pune-based Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Technology, besides floating global tenders, to augment its stock of vaccines and accelerate the campaign.
Ravi Kumar said the government cannot set a deadline to complete the vaccination drive. “It is not an easy task to inoculate 6.5 crore people in the state.
The manufacturing companies are working overtime and ramping up their production capacities. Going by the pace at which Karnataka is getting its share of anti-Covid vaccines, we might need a few years to inoculate the entire population. Therefore, the state has decided to give preference to those due for their second dose,’’ he added.