No stock of Covishield and Corbevax in Aurangabad

AURANGABAD: Though the increased number of inquiries for Covid vaccination, especially for booster doses, has increased significantly, officials in Aurangabad said that they do not have any stock left for Covishield and Corbevax vaccines which had widely been used for vaccination drives in the past. However, efforts are being made to acquire the vaccines.
Acknowledging a sharp rise in people seeking Covid vaccines, Dr Paras Mandlecha, the health officer of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), on Saturday said that efforts are on to arrange for doses.
"In the wake of reports of a surge in Covid cases in China and a few other countries, the Covid control room is getting calls on the availability of vaccine doses. The top health officials have been apprised about the shortage of doses and we hope that the supply will be streamlined soon," he said.
Mandlecha said the shortage of doses is felt across the state. This is because, in recent times, the vaccination drive has almost come to a standstill. The latest official data on Covid vaccination is available till the first week of November. The data showed that the municipal limits of Aurangabad had a target of 11.7 lakh beneficiaries, and 85% and 66% received the first and the second doses, respectively. Authorities said the vaccination statistics were by and large stagnant thereafter, until the latest recent demand for doses.
Yogesh Kulkarni, a private professional, said he could not get the precaution dose for his mother due to a shortage of Covid vaccines. "My mother is a senior citizen and she was vaccinated using Covidshield. While she became eligible for the precaution dose on February 12, we ignored the jab as there was a general perception that the pandemic had ended," he said.
With no stock of two vaccine varieties, four AMC-run health centres were engaged in Covid vaccination in Aurangabad till Saturday. For the availability of doses and any queries related to Covid-19, AMC has requested citizens to contact on helpline number 8956306007.