Supply of Covishield slows down across Maharashtra

Mumbai: The supply of Covishield has slowed down a tad to districts as the state received the last stock of the Covid-19 vaccine about two months ago. Officials said there is no imminent shortage, but there could be a stretch if stocks don’t arrive in 2-3 weeks.

The state got 20lakh Covishield doses about two months ago, confirmed Dr Sachin Desai, state immunisation officer. He said the districts have nearly 2.5lakh doses. As demand from districts has slowed down, the state has reduced asking for more doses.

The state sees 45,000-50,000 vaccinations a day, of which over 60% are precautionary doses. As the majority got vaccinated with Covishield, there is a higher demand for the Serum Institute-manufactured vaccine for precautionary doses too.

In Mumbai, civic officials said they have Covishield doses for about 14-15 days. The city hasn’t received fresh stocks in several weeks. Like most districts, vaccination footfall has dropped in Mumbai, with the current average being 2,000-3,000 daily, of which most people come for the precautionary shot.