STOCKS DRY UP, HP LIKELY TO SUSPEND VAX DRIVE FOR 18+ GROUP

SHIMLA: With vaccine supply drying up, Himachal Pradesh may have to suspend its vaccination drive for the 18-45 age group in two days. On Tuesday, the health department was left with only 4,500 doses for this age group.

According to the health department, there were only 170 doses left for the 18-plus age group in Bilaspur district, 330 in Chamba, 100 in Hamirpur and 1, 420 in Kangra—the most populous district in the state.

Kullu had 130 doses while the tribal district of Kinnaur had only 20 doses. Lahaul and Spiti had completely run out of its supply.

Mandi, the second most populated district in the state, had 840 doses while Shimla had 400. There were 650 doses left in Sirmaur district, 370 in Solan and only 70 in Una.

SVS Parimahal, RVS Dharamshala and RVS Mandi—the three centres set up by the government for vaccinating the youth have also exhausted their stock.

“Right now, we have only 4,550 doses left. The drive will have to be suspended once the remaining stock is used up. We will receive a fresh batch of the vaccine in mid-june and initiate the drive then,” said Dr Gopal Berry, deputy director of the vaccination programme.

The youth, meanwhile, are struggling to even secure a slot on the Cowin portal. Yashwant Chauhan, a young vaccine aspirant, said a digital divide has also come into play.

“Those belonging to rural areas are not getting any slots while tech-savvy people are quickly taking up all the slots on Cowin portal,” he said.