COVID-19 vaccination for those aged 18-45 will not begin from May 1 in the state Karnataka, Health Minister Dr. Sudhakar announced on April 30. The decision was taken in the wake of massive vaccine shortages that appeared in the state. He asked 18-45 aged category people who registered on the Co-Win portal for inoculation, have to wait for the government to inform them once new stocks arrive. “We have made orders to Serum Institute in Pune for over one crore doses but the official news is that they are still not prepared to give it to us from tomorrow as scheduled. We have already paid Rs 400 crore to purchase one crore doses of Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune,” the Minister told reporters.
Vaccine shortage: Karnataka Health Min asks people of 18-45 age category not to visit vaccine centres from May 1. Says govt will inform once new stocks arrive pic.twitter.com/YDZS2Qs5cU
— Soumya Chatterjee (@Csoumya21) April 30, 2021
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said in a statement on April 29, “So far the Government of India has supplied 99.40 lakh doses of vaccine to the state and 93.50 lakh doses have been administered. Around 5.9 lakh doses are available. The state government is procuring 1 crore doses of vaccine. Work order has been placed to procure one crore additional doses of vaccine. The fourth phase of vaccination drive will be taken up in stages”.
“Under these circumstances, vaccination drives will continue based on the availability of vaccines. The drive will be planned to ensure systematic, disciplined, and smooth implementation,” the CM’s statement added. The statement comes as Karnataka is under a two-week lockdown, as the state is facing a higher increase in covid positive cases and shortage of oxygen, ICU, and ventilator beds.
Karnataka reported 35,024 fresh cases with 270 deaths in a day across the state On April 29. With 35,024 new cases registered, the state’s positive tally reached 14.74 lakh and fatalities to 15,306 respectively.
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