Shillong, May 15: The state government has ordered nearly 10 lakh doses of vaccine to tide over the shortage.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong admitted about the shortage of vaccine and added that the government had sought 5 to 10 lakh doses of vaccine from the Centre.
Tynsong told reporters that the government is pursuing with the pharmaceutical company to provide fresh slot of vaccine for the age group between 18 and 44 years.
On the second day on Saturday, Tynsong said the vaccination drive for the 18 to 44 years was smooth and added that the percentage of people who were vaccinated is 93.
To a question, the deputy chief minister said the government still has some stock for vaccination for the citizens who are 45 and above.
For the vaccination of age group from 18 to 44 years, the Health and Family Welfare Principal Secretary, Sampath Kumar said the government received the first slot of 42,000 doses from Serum Institute.
As the stock is diminishing, the government is waiting for confirmation for the second slot from the pharmaceutical company.
The plan of the government is to vaccinate 15 lakh population between 18 and 44 years of age.
Currently, the state has 63,000 doses of vaccine meant for the age group of 45 and above and this will last for a week.
Vaccine wastage
To a question, the health official said that the wastage of vaccines was when the age group above 45 was vaccinated.
“Those who vaccinate open the vile and wait for people to come. One vile has ten doses and if only four people turn up, the remaining is wasted as this should be used within four hours”, Kumar said.
The health official said the community should ensure that at least ten people together turn up for vaccination to reduce the wastage.
