Maharashtra: Health minister diverts Covid-19 vaccines meant for 18+ to complete second dose for 45+

The vaccination of those in the 1844 age group is most likely to hit the brakes as the state government has decided to divert available stocks to give the second dose to those 45 years and above While the vaccine shortage has hit the statersquos inoculation drive a huge number of older citizens are waiting for their second dose Till Monday 14910258 people had got their first dose while 3497207 had received their second doseAs Covishieldrsquos stock exhausted quickly the state govt started giving only Covaxin as the first dose and kept Covishield for the second one PicAshish RajeAccording to Health Minister Rajesh Tope the state needs over five lakh Covaxin doses and 16 lakh Covishield doses for the 45plus age grouprsquos second shot ldquoWe have inoculated 184 crore people first and second shot included so far The Centre is expected to give us vaccines for the 45plus group The waitlist for the second shot is huge We have only 35000 doses of Covaxin available the Centrersquos free supply We have decided to use 245 lakh doses of Covaxin that we bought for the 1844 group for the 45plus citizensrdquo said TopeTope said he discussed the supply with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan but since the Centre also had a shortage the state decided to use the jabs procured for the 1844 years group Will the diversion halt the youngstersrsquo inoculation completely or limit its pace Tope said he will discuss slowing down the younger lotrsquos vaccination with the Covid19 Task ForceIn addition 11750388 people in the 45plus category have got their first shot and only 2185740 have availed the second one apparently because of shortage of both vaccines Reports coming in from various cities towns and villages said people are desperate to get immunised but unavailability or inadequate supply of vaccines disappointed themThe number of healthcare workers HCW and frontline workers FLW says that the state would need huge stocks for their second shot Vaccines for the HCWFLW and 45plus vaccines are provided by the Centre while the state has to buy for the 1844 years group Till Monday 1130752 HCWs were given the first shot while 674454 got their second Among FLWs 1518600 first dose and 637013 second dose were jabbedIn the 1844 years group which has 571 crore people only 510518 have been able to get their first shot since May 1 the day their programme started This number doesnrsquot include HCWs and FLWsWhat led to the problemSources said in March the state had both Covishield and Covaxin available Much in demand then Covishield stocks would exhaust quickly but mostly Covaxin remained in stock The Centrersquos policy allowed fresh supply only after current stocks were used completely So in midMarch the state government decided to use only Covaxin for the first dose and kept Covishield for the second dose Soon the number of Covaxin receivers increased manifold but by the beginning of April Covishield supply shrunk and at times it wasnrsquot available With Covaxin in short supply now people have been forced to wait over four to six weeks for their second shot For Covishield a period of six to eight weeks is recommendedSituation across stateThe state has so far given 13202645 first doses and 3080715 second doses of Covishield and 1707613 first doses and 416492 second doses of CovaxinIn Mumbai 1971274 had received the first shot of Covishield and 625042 the second 129234 were given Covaxinrsquos first shot and 57097 their second till Monday evening In Thane district 1031622 got the first jab of Covishield and 249479 got the second 102489 were given Covaxinrsquos first shot and 39810 their secondIn Pune district Covishield was used for 1857634 first shots and 388872 second doses the district gave 175903 first doses and 65235 second doses of CovaxinNagpur district used Covishield for 856739 first dose and 191903 second dose it used Covaxinrsquos 52073 doses as the first shot and 19097 doses as second oneAmong others the Covaxin situation in Chandrapur district was alarming As against 13430 first doses only 83 second doses were administered While Covishieldrsquos first and second dose were numbered at 220975 and 43792 respectively Solapur district has given Covaxinrsquos 8938 first doses and 852 second doses Covishieldrsquos 332847 first dose and 80503 second dose were administeredIn Topersquos native Jalna district the waitlist for the second shot was as long as other districts It had given 39272 first and 3931 second doses of Covaxin and 164320 first and 34382 second shots of Covishield till Monday11750388No of first doses for 45 given in state as on Mon2185740No of 2nd doses for 45 given in state as on Mon245 LakhNo of Covaxin doses bought for the 1844 years group to be used for the 45plus group