18-44 age group find no slots for the vaccine drive beginning from today in Telangana

With the shortage in supply of vaccines to hospitals, non availability of oxygen cylinders etc, the slot allocation issues in vaccination for 18+ on other hand caused double whammy to the Telangana state government.

Currently the main issue in providing vaccine centres for 18+ has gone for a toss. While vaccination for 18-44 years is scheduled to start from May 1, all vaccination centres in Telangana noticed on the CoWIN portal on Friday with a disclaimer that only those aged above 45 are allowed for inoculation.

Reportedly, Apollo Hospitals and Gandhi declared on Friday that it will begin a vaccination drive for the 18-45 year old age group from May 1 across various areas in the nation, including Hyderabad. Nonetheless, as on Friday night, the hospital was not listed on the CoWIN portal.

Director of Public Dr G Srinivasa Rao took cognizance of the ongoing issues. He has affirmed that the State will allocate separate centres or a queue only for senior citizens seeking vaccinations. This was stated by the DPH at a telephonic interaction session on All India Radio, Hyderabad where he was posed questions from the public about the measures taken to resolve ongoing covid-19 pandemic issues.

“We understand that there is overcrowding due to the increase in testing. We assure that some solutions will be found and senior citizens and disabled individuals will be given priority. At present vaccines are in limited number and supply to all hospitals will be restored soon,” said Dr Rao.