30 lakh miss second dose due to Covid vaccine shortage in Rajasthan

A total of 8,94,565 people are awaiting their second dose of Covaxin while another 20,97,150 are in line for Covishield, showed the state data.

According to officials, another 20 lakh people will be due for their second dose by the end of this month.

Health Secretary Siddharth Mahajan said the state, as of now, has set aside 70 per cent of the vaccines for the second doses and the rest for the first doses.

Rajasthan has been allocated 65 lakh doses for July, of which 42 lakh have been received, said Raghuraj Singh, project director of state immunisation. He claimed the state’s vaccine stock has run dry.

Attacking the central government, State Family Welfare Director Laxman Singh Ola said, “There is no clarity on when we are going to receive the next batch of vaccines.”

Another senior official said besides vaccine shortage, overcrowding and lack of policing at the vaccination centres are depriving people of their second dose. “Even if we schedule camps for the second dose, more people come to get their first dose. Overcrowding and lack of policing at these centres is adding to the growing number of people awaiting their second dose,” the official said.

At least 2,37,87,469 people have received their first doses and another 61,29,057 both doses in the state. Rajasthan is inching closer to become the fourth state to cross the 3 crore doses mark.

Last week, CM Ashok Gehlot had asked the centre to allocate at least 1.5 crore vaccines a month to fulfill the state’s need. Before this, Health Minister Raghu Sharma had also written a letter to the Union Health Ministry, seeking more vaccines.