A batch of 32 vials or 320 doses of Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccines – Covaxin – was stolen from Jaipur’s Kanwatiya Hospital in Shastri Nagar on Wednesday morning. The vials – each containing 10 doses – went missing during transit when they were on their way to the cold storage. The hospital immediately informed the police.
“320 doses have gone missing from the hospital. We have sought a probe into the incident and have lodged a case with the police,” said Chief Medical Officer Narottam Sharma.
The incident comes amid much hue and cry by the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government over a shortage of vaccines in the state.
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Rajasthan on Tuesday saw a new high of 5,528 Covid cases, out of which the highest number was registered in Jaipur, at 989. The death toll was also the highest to date, with 28 fatalities in the last 24 hours.
Rajasthan is also the second state after Maharashtra to have administered over one crore (10 million) doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Meanwhile, the central government has said that more than 1.67 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and UTs, underlining that the problem is not of vaccine shortage but of better planning.
