UP Govt hospitals run out of COVID booster dose

Lucknow: As the country reels under the fear of another COVID wave, the state-run healthcare facilities in Uttar Pradesh seem to be running out of vaccines as the rush for precaution doses increases.

Following reports of rising COVID cases in China and some other countries, the demand for COVID vaccination is increasing in all parts of the country.

Officials said it will take at least a week for fresh supplies to arrive. The Covid vaccinations are being done at 14 hospitals in the state capital -- 10 private and four government.

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The government healthcare facilities offering vaccination are SPM Civil Hospital, NK Road Community Health Centre, Lok Bandhu Hospital and Balrampur Hospital.

A total of 96 people were vaccinated at private hospitals on Monday while those coming to the government hospitals were asked to come after a week.

District immunisation officer Dr M.K. Singh confirmed vaccine unavailability at the government centres and said requests have been sent to the government for fresh supplies.

According to data, about 31 lakh people aged 18 years and above in the state capital have not taken precaution doses so far.

Officials said the demand for vaccines dropped drastically after the decline of the pandemic, hence hospitals did not place fresh orders.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that as a preparatory measure to deal with any upcoming surge in COVID cases, the administration of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College has trained around 200 post-graduate students in the second year to handle emergency COVID-related situations.

They have been trained with treatment protocol, do’s and don’ts in emergency situations, and how to operate life-saving equipment. The dean of MGM Medical College administration, Dr Sanjay Dixit informed, "We have trained over 200 PG students on Thursday to handle emergency situations in case there's a surge in COVID-19 cases. These students didn’t get the chance to work during the first and second waves of the pandemic."

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