District exhausts its vaccine reserves

Several hundred people had to return empty-handed

The district’s COVID-19 inoculation drive took a severe hit after it exhausted its vaccine reserves on Monday. While the acute shortage has prompted health authorities to call off the ongoing vaccination drive in several places, there is no word on when the next batch would arrive. The special vaccination drive that has been under way at the Jimmy George indoor stadium since March 2 will be suspended on Tuesday. The facility enabled numerous people to avail the doses instantly after registering at the venue without the need for online bookings. Having facilitated vaccination for a bulk of the COVID-19 vaccine recipients, the stadium has witnessed great rush during the last few days. The situation was no different on Monday when a serpentine queue formed outside the venue as early as 8 a.m., two hours prior to the drive. While many had come for the vaccine booster (second dose), the increased demand seen lately could also have been spurred by the fear of the depleting vaccine stock amid the sharp surge in COVID-19 cases, officials point out. A total of 1,641 people, including 448 senior citizens, were administered the vaccine at the facility. As many as 1,384 of the beneficiaries received their second doses.