Andhra’s Tika Utsav Target Hits Wall on Depleted Stocks

Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. 

(File Photo: IANS)

Despite grand plans to vaccinate six lakh people per day, during the ‘Tika Utsav’ which began on Sunday, 11 April, Andhra Pradesh has had to settle for just one lakh vaccinations – its entire stock in hand. The depleted vaccine stocks have forced the officials to postpone the campaign in some districts, and organise it on a lower scale in other districts.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced that the state would be vaccinating six lakh persons per day, during the four-day Tika Utsav campaign called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister had also written to the Centre, requesting 25 lakh doses of the COVID vaccine, in this regard.

But with the central government yet to respond to the state's request, the stocks have dropped abysmally. As a result, the Utsav had to be postponed till the arrival of fresh stocks in Anantapur district. District authorities said that vaccination would commence on a war footing in the district, as soon as fresh stocks arrive.

The situation is not very different in most of the other districts which are grappling with low stocks and growing demand. State officials said that East and West Godavari, Nellore, Prakasam, Visakhapatnam, and other districts are using the available stocks to vaccinate people in urban areas. In some of the other districts, the authorities are using the limited stock for vaccination in both, urban rural areas.

With no sign of fresh stocks arriving soon and COVID cases on the rise with every passing day, authorities are a concerned lot in Andhra Pradesh.

(This story has been published in an arrangement with IANS.)