No Covid vaccine shots in govt centres in Noida since February 9

NOIDA: The government-run health centres in the city exhausted their last batch of Covid vaccines on February 9, and nearly a month later, they are yet to replenish their stocks.
Data on central government platform CoWin showed on Thursday evening that just two private hospitals in the city continue to offer vaccines against Covid. Other private facilities were on the list until a few days back.
This comes at a time when cases of the viral infection have seen an uptick across parts of India, including Delhi-NCR.
Gautam Budh Nagar recorded 56 new cases on Thursday, taking the district's count of active infections to 250.
The active cases were down to zero on January 19, data with the health department shows.
Though most people have taken two doses of the vaccine, only around a quarter (26.6%) of the city's eligible population has opted for the third booster or precautionary dose, officials said on Thursday. Around 4.5 lakh booster doses have been administered in the district till now.
They said the state government normally sends fresh stocks after assessing demand from every district. "As soon as the vaccine stock is received, we will again start the vaccination drive," said Dr Obaid, deputy district immunisation officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.
Around 10 government facilities in Noida administer Covid vaccines.
The district had last received 21,300 doses of Covishield shots on January 17, and this stock ran out on February 9.
On Thursday, booster doses were being offered only at Felix Hospital and Manas Hospital in the city, the CoWin portal showed.
Health department officials told TOI that they expect more people to opt for the booster dose, now that cases are rising.
They also said that a low turnout for precautionary doses could be because while vaccination certificates were mandatory for travel and other purposes, booster shots are optional (doctors and experts still urge people to take these to bolster immunity) and the last time India saw a full-fledged countrywide outbreak was in early 2022.
Officials also pointed out that some people in Noida may have taken their booster doses in other parts of NCR, including in Delhi and Gurgaon.
Gautam Budh Nagar reported 56 new Covid cases on Thursday. The active cases count has reached 240 in the district. Health officials said nine of the patients are hospitalised while the remaining are in home isolation. The health department has now ramped up its preparations so that there is no shortage of medical equipment or oxygen in case of a further rise in cases.