With only limited supply having been received, Meghalaya has almost exhausted its stock of Covid-19 vaccines for the 18 to 44 age group, the government said today.
“As soon as we get the second lot we will again announce the schedule so that people can register for the vaccine,” Principal Secretary in the Health Department Sampath Kumar said today.
Even the next lot, however, will probably only last five to six days.
On the amount of vaccines that have had to be discarded, for which Meghalaya ranked among the top-four offenders, Kumar said that the reason was that each vial of the vaccine contains enough vaccine for 10 jabs. If not enough people come forward for the injection after a vial is opened, then whatever is left in the vial has to be thrown away after a certain length of time.
“This is a challenge. That is why we have issued instructions for beneficiaries to come in numbers of 10 so that there will not be any wastage,” the Principal Secretary said.
Kumar also informed that the response of citizens in Garo Hills was good, while the biggest problems in take-up have largely been in Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong separately explained that the reason for a huge rush of 18-44s on the first day of their vaccination drive yesterday was because people came forward without checking the slots available or pre-registering on the Cowin app.
As far as oxygen is concerned, he said there is no shortage and the government will be able to install a few oxygen generators in Shillong next week and by the end of this month in three district headquarters – Jowai, Tura and Nongpoh.
