Bhubaneswar: The Health and Family Welfare Department on Wednesday said that the vaccination of people in the age group of 18 to 44 years in Odisha will depend on the availability of vaccines.
The third phase is scheduled to begin on May 1.
“We are ready for the vaccination and have kept the session sites ready. If necessary, the session sites will be increased,” Director, Health and Family Welfare, BIjay Panigrahi told the media.
The government has placed an order for 3.77 crore doses of Covishield at Rs 400/dose and 10.34 lakh doses of Covaxin at Rs 600/dose for 1.93 crore people in this age group.
It is, however, unlikely that the manufacturers — Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech — will be able to produce additional stock to meet the states’ demand as both have been booked by the central government till May 15.
Panigrahi had earlier told the media that the state is expecting Covaxin only by mid-May and Covishield by the end of next month.
He further said that another consignment of Covishield vaccines is expected to arrive in Odisha on Wednesday. So far, 57,04,916 people have been vaccinated in the state.
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