Tamil Nadu's Covid-19 vaccine story: From 'hesitancy to shortage'

Just when the state was overcoming vaccine hesitancy among its populace, Tamil Nadu is now facing an acute shortage of Covid-19 vaccine doses though those between the age of 18-44 are ready to get inoculated.

The state as of June 8 received 1.01 crore Covishield and Covaxin doses from the Union Government and other channels and has utilized nearly 98 lakh doses. Government sources told DH that only 12,520 doses were not utilised as of June 9 morning.

The remaining, it is understood, accounts for wastage, though the percentage has come down quite remarkably with people coming forward to get vaccinated.

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said 34 of the 38 districts in the state have run out of doses, and the vaccination drive can restart only if Tamil Nadu gets supplies from Serum Institute of India (SII), and Bharat Biotech Limited through the Union Government. The Centre has promised over 40 lakh doses in June.

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“Vaccination drive has come to a standstill. We don’t have vaccine doses in 95 per cent of the centres, and we are being forced to turn away people who come to get their jabs,” a senior government official told DH.

According to data available with DH, the state received 84.81 lakh doses of Covishield, and 16.82 lakh doses of Covaxin. Though the vaccination drive was a bit slow in the initial months due to “vaccine hesitancy”, it did improve in May after the state government allowed the age group of 18-44 to get their jabs.

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In May, more than 30 lakh doses were administered to people, and the state was hoping to keep up the momentum, but the shortage has almost stopped the vaccination drive. While 4.57 lakh doses were used in January and February, the figure rose to 25 lakh in March, and 28 lakh in April.

The state also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan seeking vaccines in proportion to its population and caseload. Subramanian has been pointing out that many states which have a lesser population than Tamil Nadu received more vaccine doses.

A public health expert said vaccine hesitancy is a thing of the past in Tamil Nadu, and with the Centre promising to provide vaccines for all ages, response to the drive will depend on the supplies that the state gets.

“What we now have is a vaccine shortage at a time when we were vaccinating youngsters at a good rate. This will certainly act as a setback to the state’s efforts in containing the Covid-19 spread. The state continues to report over 18,000 cases a day, and the death rate is still one of the highest in the country. Vaccination is the key in reducing the spread,” he told DH.