As Covid cases go up, health officers demand 1 lakh vaccine doses

BENGALURU:  District Health Officers (DHO) in Karnataka have demanded a total of 1 lakh doses of Covid vaccines, amid a surge in cases across India. 

Anil Kumar TK, principal secretary, health and family welfare department, said DHOs from across the state have seen a demand for vaccines, with the rise in Covid cases lately. In the last week of March, they communicated to the health department to procure vaccines from the Union health ministry. 

Kumar said since Covishield and Covaxin stocks are currently unavailable, the state is demanding that Corbevax be procured in the coming days, with necessary permissions from the Election Commission (EC) since the Model Code of Conduct is in force in the state. 

The DHO of Hassan said compared to the past few months, the demand for vaccines has increased slightly. For a long period, people appeared completely disinterested in taking vaccines or getting testing for Covid in case they were symptomatic. Lately, they are getting a few calls enquiring about the availability of vaccines, he said. 

Dr Suchetha, medical officer at the Public Health Centre (PHC) in Malleswaram, said there is a slight increase in demand, with a majority of people planning to travel in the near future coming forward to get vaccinated. She said the fear of Covid has vanished and most people are reluctant to take a booster dose or get tested for Covid. 

A member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) explained that procuring vaccines is a complicated process and depends on demand. They cannot be manufactured and procured easily. Production depends on demand, or much of the stock expires since people are not coming forward to get vaccinated in large numbers.