8 lakh Covid vaccine doses left, restock only if there's demand in Maharashtra: Officials

PUNE: Maharashtra is now left with 8.79 lakh doses of Covaxin and zero reserves of Covishield and Corbevax, officials said on Saturday, adding that more stock would be sought from the Centre only if there was demand.
The state has been recording 2,000-3,000 daily vaccinations over the last few months. In fact, demand is so low, authorities have had to reduce the number of vaccination sites - from 5,000 to just 2,000.

"We don't have demand anymore. Most sites are seeing hardly any takers for the jab," one health official said.
Health department authorities said unused doses may even be sent to other states to prevent wastage. The 8.79 lakh Covaxin doses are all set to expire by February.
In October, the Centre had announced it was returning Rs 4,237 crore, or 85% of the budgetary allocation (2022-23) for Covid vaccination, to the finance ministry. This announcement was made as all states had enough doses to run their vaccine drives for at least six more months, said one central official with knowledge of the decision-making process.
The official said Covid vaccines may enter the market, if the Centre's own stock runs out. "There has been no directive so far, but the Centre may frame new policy on vaccines once its stocks are completely utilised," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
A key reason for fall in demand for Covid vaccines has been the reduced caseload, state officials said, adding that people have become complacent because they're no longer as worried about Covid as they were during its peaks
But Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist, said footfalls have reduced because most eligible beneficiaries have already taken their two doses and the third has been recommended for those who are at risk of severe disease.
"So, obviously turnouts have dropped. Covid-19 has been endemic for at least six months now and there has been no new variant responsible for spikes in hospitalisations or deaths. However, I would urge everyone to stay cautious. We can't be complacent," he said.