Only 703 doses given in last 4 days, zero on Sunday
Anantnag: Covid-19 vaccines in Kashmir have gone down to zero after consistently going down in number over the past several days. As many as 2,76,181 fewer jabs have been administered in the first 15 days of May as compared to the last 15 days of April.
In the last three days (May 13 to 16) only 703 jabs were administered across Kashmir valley, with some of the most populous districts, including Srinagar and Anantnag, going without a single jab.
At present the administration here has been able to administer a total of 13,35,758 doses of the vaccine thus far, including 1,027,897 doses to people above 45 years of age, 2,38,883 to Front Line Workers (FLW) and 68,978 to Health Care Workers (HCW).
Out of the total jabs given out thus far, only 1,63,415 doses have been administered between May 1 and May 15.
“Compare it with the last 15 days of April (between April 15 and 30) when the number of doses was 4,39,596,” a senior official in the administration privy to the data said. “This is a downward slide of around 63 percent and we have not even started yet on the 18 to 45 age group.”
The official expressed concern over the fact that not a single vaccine was administered on May 13.
“While I understand that it was Eid day, only 199 doses were given out on May 14 and 504 on May 15 and then zero doses again today (Sunday). Districts like Anantnag, Srinagar, Kulgam, Bandipora and Kupwara have gone dry for three days straight. This is a matter of concern when we are talking about getting over with the vaccination of 45-plus citizens in the next 10 days. How?” the official asked.
Besides, these numbers are only doses and not people who have been fully vaccinated, which will be a herculean task to complete.
“Even if we consider these numbers to be the number of people vaccinated fully, it is still only 19 percent of the population of Kashmir valley. And that is not the case; the actual numbers are way below,” the official said.
Sources in the health department told Kashmir Reader that vaccination centres are facing a crunch in supplies as more and more people are now ready to get the jab. “Earlier we had supplies in abundance and people were not ready to get vaccinated. Now that people are coming to us voluntarily, we are facing a shortage of vaccines,” a health worker, posted at a vaccination centre in Anantnag district, told Kashmir Reader.
State Immunisation Officer Dr Shahid Hussain said that the supply to Kashmir has remained a little hindered. Asked how long it will take for the situation to ease out, Hussain said that he gets updates on every first and sixteenth dates of the month.
“I am waiting for the update today, following which I will be in a position to comment on it,” Hussain said.