East Godavari faces shortage of 6.50 lakh Covid vaccines
Collector Muralidhar Reddy interacting with an elderly woman at the Teeka Utsav inauguration in Kakinada on Sunday
Kakinada: Even as number of Covid cases increasing day by day under second wave and the government launching the Teeka Utsav, acute shortage for Covid vaccine is haunting East Godavari district.
District Medical and Health Officer Dr KVS Gowreswar Rao told 'The Hans India' that there is a shortage of 6.50 lakh of vaccines in the district. He said that they placed the order with the government and expecting it very shortly.
He said that the vaccine was administered to 25,000 to 30,000 people per day in the district. He said that the stock was exhausted. There are 963 Covid-19 cases in the district and 781 people are under home quarantine.
He said that there are 175 government vaccination centres in the district including PHCs, UPHCs, PP Units, CHCs, AHs, DH and Government General Hospital, Kakinada.
Apart from these, there are 61 private Covid-19 vaccination centres in the district.
So far, 3.30 lakh people were given Covid -19 vaccine.The second wave of Covid-19 is very severe in the district. Cases are increasing and posing a great threat to the health of the people.
People are panicked about its surge. Many people are not following the Covid -19 norms and particularly it is found in crowded places, markets, Rythu Bazaars, cinemas and shopping malls. Even though it is mandatory for everyone to wear a mask, nobody is following the rule and they are freely moving without a mask.
In view of the non-availability of the vaccine, people are compelled to go to private hospitals where they are collecting high amounts. As common people are unable to pay such high amounts, they are totally dependent upon government hospitals.
Meanwhile, Collector D Muralidhar Reddy inaugurated the Teeka Utsav programme here on Sunday. Reddy exhorted the people to have vaccination in view of surge in Covid-19 cases in the district.
He said that despite the slight shortage of vaccine, people need not worry. He said that the mass vaccination programme will be conducted from April 11 to 14.
In view of increase of second wave of Covid -19 cases in Yanam, the Regional Administrator cum Sub Divisional Administrator Aman Sharma issued instructions to impose corona curfew from 12 midnight to 5 am.
He said that Covid-19 active cases are on an increasing trend in the country and daily caseload is also increasing.
He said that Yanam region is also witnessing an increasing number of Covid -19 positive cases in the past few days. The corona curfew has been imposed in Yanam region of UT of Puducherry with effect from April 10.