RAWALPINDI: Two vaccination centres in Rawalpindi have been closed till Monday due to shortage of Covid-19 vaccines while the other three are providing only the second dose.

The vaccination centres at Jan Marriage Hall and Wapda Hospital were closed after they ran short of vaccines.

Many people complained that vaccines were not available even at the Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Red Crescent and Shahbaz Sharif Sports Complex centres.

They said Astrazenica was available at FJWU and Shahbaz Sharif Sports Complex centres and there was no Sinopharm and Sinovac in these centres.

In government hospitals, vaccination is available at Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital while there is also shortage of vaccines at Holy Family Hospital (HFH).

Drive-through vaccination centre opens in Islamabad

A senior doctor at HFH said the provincial government had not released vaccines for the last one week and vaccines in the stock had been utilised. He said the government had promised to supply vaccines after June 20, adding a new consignment would arrive soon and, hopefully, the situation would normalise on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Mohammad Akram, who visited Jan Marriage Hall, told this reporter that he and his wife visited the FJWU, Wapda Hospital and Shamsabad centres and found no vaccine.

He said Saturday was his weekly off and he wanted to get vaccinated but shortage of vaccines in Rawalpindi forced him to visit Islamabad. He said his wife would wait for a week but it was mandatory for him to produce a vaccination certificate in his office by next week.

Suhail Khan, a university student, said he wanted to get the first dose as his examination of final semester will start in July.

Mrs Munir Ahmed, a housewife, said she visited many vaccination centres and there was no vaccine.

However, District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Faiza Kanwal said there was shortage of vaccines at some centres. She said people should get themselves vaccinated at the FJWU and Shamsabad centres.

When her attention was drawn towards the shortage of vaccines in these centres, she said the available stock was being used and a new consignment would arrive from Lahore in a day or two.

Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer told Dawn that vaccination was available at the BBH and DHQ hospital while there was shortage of vaccine at the HFH.

He said he had informed the Punjab government about the issue and the situation would improve in a day or two. He said an overall shortage of vaccines had been witnessed in the country.

Meanwhile, one person died of Covid-19 and 12 people tested positive while 14 patients were discharged from hospitals in the district on Saturday.

Mohammad Arshad, 70, a resident of the city area, was admitted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences on June 18 where he died.

There are 217 active patients in the district. As many as 44 patients are in hospitals and 173 home isolated. Moreover, 887 patients are waiting for the results of their Covid-19 serology.

Total 10 patients from the garrison city - three patients each from cantonment and Potohar Town and four from Rawal Town - along with one patient each from Taxila, Gujar Khan and Mianawali arrived in the city hospitals.

Of the new patients, 10 were admitted in Holy Family Hospital, seven in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 12 in the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), 16 in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH) and one patient in Hearts International Hospital.

There are two Covid-19 patients on ventilators, 32 on oxygen and 12 are stable.

Islamabad

A drive-through vaccination centre has been set up in F-9 Park of the capital to further speed up the campaign.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Babar Sahibdin told Dawn that the drive-through vaccination centre was the second of its type in the country after the first in Lahore.

The centre will work from 8pm to 2am six days a week, the official said. The vaccination process would take 10 minutes from entry to exit in which motorists will be vaccinated without disembarking from their vehicles.

Gate No 1 at G-9 side is the entry point for the vaccination centre, the official said, adding the facility has a capacity to vaccinate four persons at a time for which four lanes and 12 booths have been established.The centre has been established jointly by the capital administration, District Healht Office, CDA and the Bank of Punjab.

A single dose vaccine - Cansino - is available at the drive-through centre, he said.

Besides, multiple mobile vaccination teams are also working in the capital to achieve the target.

He said there was no shortage of vaccines in the capital and more supply will reach on Sunday. There are 33 vaccination centres in the capital.

District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia told Dawn that Sinopharm, Astrazeneca, Cansino and Pfizer vaccines were available in Islamabad. However, Pfizer is given only to those who are immuno-compromised.

“Our target is 1.2 million people who are above 18 years of age,” the DHO said, adding so far 600,000 people have been vaccinated.

The remaining 600,000 people are likely to be vaccinated by mid-August. Daily 18,000 to 20,000 people are being vaccinated, he added.

Meanwhile, two persons died and 35 cases were reported in the capital on Saturday.

One of the deceased, a female, was in the age group of 40-49 while the other, a male, in the age group of 50-59. They were residents of G-9 and E-11.

During the last 24 hours, 3,103 tests were conducted and the positivity rate remained 1.12pc. There are 1,203 active cases in the city.

• Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2021*