Delhi says it has run out of doses and is waiting for fresh supplies. (FILE)
Two days before vaccinations open to all above 18, there is uncertainty in many states over the availability of vaccines. States like Maharashtra and Delhi say they don't have enough doses.
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Vaccinations in Mumbai of those between 18 and 44 will start only after enough vaccines are made available, and "not exactly on 1st May," tweeted Ashwini Bhide, Additional Municipal Commissioner in Mumbai's civic body BMC.
The official said senior citizens need not worry about being deprived of Covid shots. "Please wait till we have adequate vaccine stock and you can get your jab without having to stand in long queues," Ms Bhide said in tweets.
Delhi says it has run out of doses and is waiting for fresh supplies from the manufacturers. State Health Minister Satyendar Jain said: "We don't have vaccines as of now. We have made requests to the company regarding vaccines, we will tell you when it comes."
Tamil Nadu has ordered 1.5 crore doses but sources say the state government is uncertain about starting vaccinations for those between 18 and 45 from Saturday.
"One company says there is no supply till June, another is yet to get back. We are not sure if there will even be a countrywide launch on May 1," sources said.
Punjab has also said it cannot roll out the new round of vaccinations. "We can start the vaccination only when we receive up to 10 lakh doses," said Balbir Sidhu, Punjab Health Minister.
Rajasthan has run out of vaccines too. State Health Minister Raghu Sharma said vaccine makers had said they would not be able to supply to the state before May 15.
"In the state storage we have zero vaccines. For the 18 plus group we need seven crore vaccines, but they need to be given to us on time. We are ready. We spoke to Serum Institute and asked for 3.75 crore doses. They can't give us vaccines as they are first fulfilling the Centre's orders," Mr Sharma said.
What complicates matters more is a health ministry order that private vaccination centres have to return their unused stock of Covid shots to the government by tomorrow and cannot use them for the new round of inoculations.This means private centres too may have to wait for months for new vaccine stocks before they can start giving Covid shots to the younger population.
On Wednesday, when online registration began, more than 13 million people signed up for Covid shots after initial glitches.
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