Shortage of shots: Universities face an uphill vaccination battle

Normal academic term maybe far off due to shortfall of doses

LAHORE:

Higher education institutions across the most populous province in the country face the daunting challenge of protecting their teaching and non-teaching staff against Covid-19. With vaccinations suspended in many parts of Punjab due to a shortfall of doses, meeting the goal before the next academic term, which begins in a few weeks, seems impossible.

“We will not be able to make it mandatory for students before the next term. It is almost impossible due to the shortage of shots,” said one senior official from a Lahore-based university.

Despite receiving the orders from the Higher Education Commission, universities have barely managed to vaccinate their staff. While students have also been advised to get the shots in line with the targets set by the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), the goal, academics say is unachievable.

Earlier, the NCOC, the nation’s nerve centre that is responsible for setting the strategy on coronavirus, had directed all the universities to ensure that their staff is fully vaccinated by June 14. Most universities were unable to meet the deadline due to the lack of doses.

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The Express Tribune contacted teaching and non-teaching staff working for various universities for comments on the matter and learned that while many had registered for their shot, they could not avail it due to the acute shortage. They maintained that they ran from pillar to post to get the vaccine to return to their work with safety and the comfort of mind, but to no avail.

Health experts state that apart from the staff, past experiences dictate the need for students to be vaccinated to stop the super-spreader. Hampered by the vaccine unavailability, the provincial department of health is still waiting to achieve its goal of vaccinating people over the age of 18, in light of which the requirement to vaccinate students earlier has been waived.

Shortage in Punjab

According to sources within the provincial department for primary and secondary health, the vaccine stock has been replenished, which will speed up the vaccination process. Apart from the Expo Center in Lahore, 677 other points across the province were set up to administer dosages to curb the infectious disease that has claimed more than 10,000 lives.

The chaotic vaccination rollout in the province, one medical expert said, had left millions waiting for their second dose. “The public statements and strategies related to vaccination are not in line with the reality of the supply,” said one senior medical expert, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2021.