Odisha: Vaccination Of Eligible Citizens Above 18 Yrs May Not Begin From May 1

Bhubaneswar (Reporters Today Bureau): Odisha Government has announced free vaccination aged above 18 years in the third phase of vaccination starting from May 1, might get holdup due to possibly delayed in the arrival of vaccines.

Health and Family Welfare Director Bijay Panigrahi said the arrival of vaccines in the state for the third phase vaccination might get delayed

“The possibility of Covishield vaccine reaching in Odisha in the month of  May is very less. Covaxin is likely to reach the state in mid of May. The third phase of vaccination will commence only after the arrival of the vaccines in the state. We have already written to the manufacturer of Covishield for the supply of the vaccine,” said the official.

He further said, “Registration for the vaccination will begin tomorrow. All eligible can register themselves on CoWIN portal. However, a slot of appointment will not be allotted for the time being. We will allot slots through the portal once the vaccines are available with us.  The beneficiaries can visit the designated centre to get the vaccine jab.”

“Currently, the state has a stock of 1.23 lakh Covishield and 3.65 lakh Covaxin doses. Today, the drive is underway at 600 centres,” the official added.

So far 88,770 people were administered the vaccines at 595 centre and 56, 39, 150 people have been vaccinated in the state