Coronavirus | Several districts face vaccine shortage in Tamil Nadu

Some have run out of Covaxin, Covishield stocks to last only for a few days

A shortage of COVID-19 vaccines was reported from a number of districts across Tamil Nadu. While a few districts have already run out of Covaxin, the available stocks of Covishield will last only a few days in a number of districts. Many districts were looking for fresh supplies to continue vaccination. The surge in cases has led to an increase in demand for the vaccines, resulting in quick depletion of the stocks, a section of health officials said. Owing to the depleting stocks, persons who lined up to get the jab were turned away in a number of districts. The State’s daily vaccination coverage was more than two lakh on Thursday and Friday. Sources in the Health Department said that as of April 15, the State had 7.41 lakh doses of Covishield and 1.75 lakh doses of Covaxin. Chennai had a major share, with about 4.3 lakh doses, and authorities of the four major government medical college hospitals said they had adequate stocks. However, several districts were hit hard.