Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (SS)

Bengaluru, Jan 26: After much delay, 8 lac doses of Covishield vaccine has arrived in the state and now preparations are underway to begin the vaccination drive.

Health Minister Dr Sudhakar had set a target of administering at least 50% of booster doses by the end of January. But, due to shortage of vaccine this target may not be achievable.

With the availability of Covaxin in many places, there was a shortage of Covishield and Corbevax vaccines which had to be paid for the special vaccination drive. Due to lack of demand for vaccines, the state government had not placed a request for dispatching of the vaccines. But with the outbreak of the infection and the rise in the number of infected cases in China, US and other nations, the demand for vaccines has gone up. There were complaints of lack of availability of Covishield vaccine and it is in this context that the state government had placed a request with the Centre for 30 lac doses of the vaccine.

Health Commissioner D Randeep said 8 lac doses of Covishield vaccine have arrived in the state and the vaccination drive will begin soon.

National Health Mission director Naveen Bhat said he would hold a meeting with all the deputy commissioners of the districts and make arrangements to distribute the vaccines. He said an action plan has been readied to administer 8 lac doses of the vaccine by the end of this month. A special vaccination drive is likely to commence in Bengaluru and other districts by the end of the week, he said.

He said awareness is being created on the need for the people to get themselves vaccinated. After 75-80% of the vaccination doses are administered, the state will place the request for additional doses of the vaccine, he added.