Palghar citizens told to mask up as vaccine stocks decline

Palghar: An advisory about wearing masks in crowded places has been issued to prevent the resurgence of Covid amid fears of the BF.7 variant pushing infections. The advisory is important as there is a lack of booster doses of the vaccine in Palghar district, with people who have taken the primary and secondary doses finding it difficult to get additional jabs.

A total of 22,03,000 people in Palghar district had taken the first dose of vaccination and 22,77,000 had taken the second dose. As the vaccine stock was nearing its expiry date, the district administration, with the help of NGOs, managed to utilise a small amount of the stock. While there were several appeals from the government, there was no response from people eligible for getting the third dose. So far, around 3,24,000 people in Palghar have received booster vaccines.

Currently, there are only 14,000 doses of Covaxin available in Palghar. While the district health department has assured that an adequate amount of vaccines will be made available at primary health centres, the stock of Covishield and Corbewax is almost negligible. Meanwhile, the stock of Covaxin with the district health department has an expiry date of Dec 31 and authorities are trying to ensure the stock is used.