The Odisha government on Tuesday stopped the coronavirus inoculation drive in 11 of its 30 districts because of a vaccine shortage, reported PTI.
The process was stopped in Sambalpur, Puri, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Nayagarh, Boudh, Gajapati, Dhenkanal, Koraput, Jharsuguda and Sonepur, said Director of Family Welfare Dr Bijay Panigrahi, who is also in charge of immunisation in the state.
Scarcity of vaccines during the second wave of the pandemic has forced some centres across the country to turn away people. Besides Odisha, at least nine other states – Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana, Punjab and Delhi – have reported vaccine shortages in the past week. However, the Centre has repeatedly claimed that there is no shortage in the country. “The problem is of better planning, not vaccine shortage,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das wrote to the Centre for the…