40K doses of Covid-19 vaccine are on verge of expiring

Aurangabad, June 17:

In a surprising development, a stock of vials having 40,000 doses of Covishield vaccine, lying in the godown of the Zilla Parishad's health department, is on verge of expiring, as ruralites turned their backs and avoided taking the second dose of their vaccine. Meanwhile, the administration has decided to dispatch the old stock to the manufacturer, Serum Institute (Pune), soon.

There was an overwhelming response to the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. People formed long and serpentine queues to take the vaccine. However, many of them were not responding to the appeal made by the zilla parishad administration for the vaccine. Later on, the chief executive officer and administrator Nilesh Gatne implemented a special drive successfully. A total of 84 per cent of citizens had taken their first dose in the district. However, the same persons were less interested in taking a second dose of the vaccine. Around 7 lakh citizens from the district have not taken their first dose. Despite making repeated appeals and announcements, ahead of the fourth wave of the Covid-19, the citizens paid no heed to it. The stock of vaccines was supplied to the health section. Of which, 40,000 doses of vaccine are on verge of expiring. The health section has intimated the ZP administration and soon the stock will be sent back to Pune.