State allocates vaccines to districts for inoculating 18-44 age group - Hindustan Times
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State allocates vaccines to districts for inoculating 18-44 age group

By, Ranchi
May 12, 2021 09:12 PM IST

In the run up to roll out free mass vaccination drive to inoculate citizens aged between 18-44 years from May 14, the state government allocated doses of two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxi, in different shares to the districts

In the run up to roll out free mass vaccination drive to inoculate citizens aged between 18-44 years from May 14, the state government allocated doses of two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxi, in different shares to the districts.

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Among the 24 districts across the state, the ten districts of Bokaro, Deoghar, Dhanbad, East Singhbhum, Garhwa, Giridih, Hazaribagh, Palamu, Ranchi and West Singhbhum were the top gainers after being allocated 10,000 doses each.

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The distribution of vaccine was made on the basis of population of the 18-44 age group residing in a particular district. The state government has identified 1.57 crore people under this group for inoculation.

The state capital Ranchi, which is the hardest hit by the pandemic, has the maximum 13.9 lakh population of people between 18-44 years of age. Dhanbad, Giridih and East Singhbhum also have more than 10 lakh people under this group.

Apart from the above 10 districts, the rest of them were allocated a total of 5,000 doses--2,000 doses of Covaxin and 3,000 doses Covishield.

The state received 2.34 lakh doses of Covishield and Covaxin against its purchase orders for carrying out the third phase. After making the above allotment to the districts, the state is now left with a total of 64,000 doses--56,000 doses of Covaxin and 8,000 doses of Covishield.

Meanwhile, health mandarins were sceptical about a hassle-free third phase, citing the meagre stock of vaccine doses. If proper supply chain of the vaccine is not maintained, the third phase may come to a halt, they said.

Chief minister Hemant Soren, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the initial response of citizens desiring to take the jab. He said, “Only 30,000 people from across the state have registered themselves on CO-WIN app or other approved platforms to take the shot. Majority of them are from Ranchi, East Singhbhum and some other big districts.”

The CM appealed to people to come forward and take the vaccine. Pre-registration is mandatory for vaccination for the 18-44 age group, and there walk-ins are not allowed for this category as of now.

Though the third phase of the inoculation drive, under which citizens in the age group of 18 to 44 years are eligible to take the jab, began across the country on May 1, the state could not start it due as the Centre banned the states from using its existing vaccine stock for inoculating this group.

The central government asked the states to purchase the vaccine on their own directly from manufacturers for this phase. Following this, the state health department issued purchase orders (PO) to the two vaccine manufactures, demanding 25 lakh doses from each of them.

Against the said orders, the state has so far received 1.34 lakh doses of Covaxin and 1 lakh doses of Covishield.

Jharkhand till May 11 inoculated 2,762,184 beneficiaries, including health care workers (HCW), frontline workers (FLW) and citizens above the age of 45 with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. As many as 622,691 have also taken the second dose.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Bedanti Saran is Special Correspondent in Jharkhand and has been handling legal beats, CBI, ED, Income Tax and other investigation wings for over a decade

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