Vaccine shortage acute as hospitals turn seniors away

Vaccine shortage acute as hospitals turn seniors away

LOGISTICAL ISSUE? Officials Say Better Distribution Needed As State Received 4 Lakh Doses On Wednesday And There Is Enough Stock

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:26.03.2021 

Many senior citizens seeking a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine returned home without getting the shot in several parts of Bengaluru on Thursday as hospitals claimed they had no supply of the anti-viral drug.

Official data confirmed the shortage as only 35,531 doses were administered till 5.30pm across target groups as against a daily goal of 3 lakh. At St John’s hospital, no sessions were held as the hospital did not receive vaccine vials.

“There must be short supply,” said Dr Ramakrishna Goud, HOD, community medicine, St John’s. “It pains me to say there is no stock of the vaccine. The government must streamline supply. Nearly 1,200 staff in our hospital are awaiting the second dose.”

In a hospital near Hebbal, senior citizens were asked to wait till 2pm and the session began only after the hospital received stock. Apollo Hospitals, Jayanagar, had stock for just one more day.

“There are issues with the distribution pattern,” said Dr Yathish Govindaiah, unit head of the hospital. “We are likely to get more doses by Friday. We administered the vaccine to 120 people today and have 26 vials left. If we do not get more, we may have to halt the drive on Saturday.”

When contacted, Arundhati Chandrashekar, mission director, National Health Mission, Karnataka, claimed the state has a stock of 10 lakh doses, including 4 lakh doses which arrived late on Wednesday. “We have been directing district authorities to redistribute doses among PHCs and hospitals,” she said.

3pm vaccine scenario

In most primary health centres, those seeking vaccination post 3pm are being advised to return the next day. This, staff say, is to ensure doses are not wasted. Unless there are 10 people line up, PHCs are not opening a vial.

“We don’t want to send anyone back without the jab, but we cannot open one vial just for one person. The rest of the doses go waste. Not many come after 3pm,” said a medical officer working at a PHC in Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone. Staffers are asking beneficiaries to either bring more eligible people along or return the next morning.

SHORT SUPPLY: Many private hospitals ran out of stock of vaccine vials on Thursday. Senior citizens were asked to return on Friday

Pvt hospital charges ₹100 more

Despite the state government capping vaccination charges in private hospitals at Rs 250, some hospitals are billing additional charges. At Mallya Hospital on Thursday, a 69-year-old citizen had to pay an additional Rs 100 as registration fee.

Dr Humera Sayeeda, medical administrator, Mallya Hospital, said one-time registration is a must for anyone accessing a service. “Those coming for the first time have to pay Rs 100 as registration fee,” she said. “We don’t collect this from patients who are already registered with us.”

The government’s cap includes Rs 150 for the vaccine and Rs 100 as service charge.

“People should not pay more than Rs 250 in any private hospital,” said KV Trilok Chandra, commissioner, health and family welfare department. “Private hospitals cannot charge more. Such instances must be reported to the zonal officer concerned so that action can be taken.”

Dr HM Prasanna, president, Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, said, “Hospitals should stick to the charge fixed by the government. We will issue an advisory to all member hospitals.”

HC’s take on delivering shot

Bengaluru:

The high court has directed the state government to submit a response about administering Covid-19 vaccines, pointing out that there are a large number of people residing in slums and shanties need to be inoculated quickly. “The question is whether the government should make special efforts to persuade citizens residing in thickly populated localities, who are highly vulnerable to the infection, to take the vaccine,” a special division bench comprising chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar noted. “The state shall repond by the next hearing.”