The Karnataka government on Wednesday suspended vaccination for people in the 18-44 years age group from Friday, after a shortage of vaccines forced it to prioritise second shots.
The state has decided to use тАЬvaccines procured directly by the state for vaccination of persons between 18 to 44 years will be utilized for vaccination of beneficiaries who are due for second doseтАЭ and to also, as decided on May 7, тАЬutilize the complete supply of vaccines provided by the government of India for vaccination of persons above 45+ years, for vaccinating beneficiaries who were due for second dose,тАЭ the Karnataka health department said in a statement.
Most private hospitals in Bengaluru have run out of stocks, except Manipal and Apollo, after the state government stopped vaccine supplies from May 1 and instead asked them to procure doses on their own.
On Wednesday, Karnataka recorded 39,998 news cases of Covid-19, with 517 deaths, taking the total number of active cases in the state to 592,182
Bengaluru recorded 16,286 cases.
Gaurav Gupta, the chief commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Wednesday said that there were just 40,000 doses of vaccine left in Bengaluru.
The crowds in vaccination centres have swelled with more and more people returning home without getting inoculated due to the shortage.
The suspension in government centres will include those who have already booked appointments, the health department clarified.
Karnataka, with a total population of around 60.5 million, of which around 30.26 million are between the age of 18-44, has so far administered 10.8 million doses of vaccines to at least 8.5 million people (2.2 million have received both doses and 8.5 million, one). The state has so far placed orders for 10 million Covishield vaccines from Serum Institute of India. In addition to this, it has also announced plans to float a global tender within the next week for another 20 million doses which include 10 million doses of Covaxin.
