More population, still Surat gets same doses as Rajkot

SURAT: So far, 15.83 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Surat city. This includes around 3 lakh fully vaccinated citizens. City health officials are aiming to achieve 100% vaccination of the targeted 33 lakh population (registered voters) in the next couple of months.
However, officials claim that the target can be achieved earlier if more Covid-19 vaccines are made available to the city.The waiting period for those willing to take the jab can be reduced if more doses are supplied.
Ahmedabad, with an estimated population of around 80 lakh, gets a daily quota of 32,000 doses. In comparison, Surat, whose population stands at roughly 70 lakh, gets just 20,000 doses on a daily basis.
On the other hand, the estimated population of Vadodara and Rajkot cities are 25 lakh and 21 lakh respectively. Still, Vadodara and Rajkot each are getting 20,000 doses daily, same as Surat.
City health officials have been regularly receiving complaints of non-availability of slots by applicants who are trying to book for vaccination since the last many days. The online booking process for the slots opens daily in the evening. With thousands of applicants lined up, the available slots are booked in seconds.
“The quota of 20,000 doses for Surat is insufficient since those willing to take the vaccine are high. Plus, we have the infrastructure to inoculate more people per day. In Rajkot, people willing to take vaccines are less than the number of available doses. Similar situation is witnessed in Vadodara on some days,” said a health official on condition of anonymity.
In Surat, however, people have to wait for days to get vaccinated. “Since last month I have been trying to get a vaccination appointment for me and my wife. Unfortunately, I haven’t got an appointment till now. I need to visit an ailing relative in Delhi but I am delaying it since I am not vaccinated,” said Rahul Mehra, a marketing professional.
“The supply of doses has been increased to 20,000, which was less early. We are utilising the total doses on a daily basis considering the high demand and in the next couple of months we will inoculate a total targeted population of 33 lakh,” said Banchhanidhi Pani, city municipal commissioner.