Karachi: A shortage of coronavirus vaccines halted the process in the mass vaccination centres in Karachi and Lahore on Tuesday amid the government's plan to inoculate 70 million people by the end of 2021.

The authorities shut down the centre/camp established at the Lahore Press Club and the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI), while it is likely that the rest of the centres in Punjab may also face closure.

Provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid confirmed that the authorities have stock of the vaccine for three days only, Dawn reported. She further said that the Covid-19 vaccine was being administered to 240,000 citizens daily in the province against the target of 430,000.

Due to this, health teams are denying the first dose to people, and only administering the second.

Similar situation in Karachi

Meanwhile, the Expo Centre in Karachi also faced a similar crisis on Tuesday, forcing many people to return home without vaccination. Due to the shortage, other vaccination centres were affected as their stocks were directed towards the mass vaccination centre.

Sindh's focal person for Covid-19 vaccination, Dr Samreen Ashraf Qureshi, said that the shortage was because the centre was running around the clock, administering around 25,000 to 30,000 people.

“The vaccine availability situation will improve further as soon as we will receive doses of locally manufactured PakVac vaccine," she said.

Commenting on the matter, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that the shortage of Covid-19 vaccine situation will improve after June 20. He added that the government is making efforts to ensure the supply of additional doses to the vaccination centres.

He stated that the vaccine shortage is temporary and this gap would be filled soon. The SAPM mentioned that there are more than two million vaccine doses currently available in the country.

Faisal pointed out that 12 million doses of covid vaccine have so far been administered across the country.