Kolkata Municipal Corporation ramps up drive, doubles number of doses

KOLKATA: There was some relief for recipients of second dose on Thursday as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation ramped up its inoculation drive, doubling the daily allocation to majority of the KMC-run Covid vaccination clinics (CVC) located across 144 wards.
According to a KMC health department official, daily allocation was raised from 100 doses to 200 doses in most vaccination clinics paving the way for an increased inoculation for the recipients of the second dose. According to a KMC official, 70% of the 195 KMC-run vaccination clinics on Thursday got 200 doses which many doctors feel is a marked improvement in supply chain as such clinics were crying for enhanced supply due to an ever-growing pendency rate. “In the past two weeks, the allocation for each vaccination clinic hovered around 100 doses. Sometimes the supply dipped to below 50 doses. Worse, our centres remained shut for four days for recipients of the first dose and two days for recipients of the second dose. Now we are struggling to clear the backlog,” said a KMC health department official.
After sending additional supply of vaccines, the civic health brass also sent a note to the clinics to reserve over 50% of the total allocation for recipients of the second dose. However, a civic health department official said in some clinics the medical officers on Thursday decided to use 75% of the total allocation for the recipients of the second dose. For instance, medical officers in several clinics in Tollygunge belt that had received 200 doses on Thursday decided to spend 150 doses for the recipients of the second dose.
“Growing pendency rate has compelled us to utilize the lion’s share of the allocation to inoculate recipients of the second dose to clear backlog. We need to have such an enhanced supply of vaccines on a regular basis if we want to do justice to those who have long been waiting to get their second dose,” said a civic official. According to sources in the KMC health department, the civic body will also allow inoculation of recipients of second doses from the civic body-run mega centres.