Recently, Lahore Expo Centre, one of the city’s most popular Covid-19 vaccination sites, became a venue for a protest demonstration by those who wanted to get the jab but had been politely turned away because the Oxford-AstraZeneca vials had run out of stock.

Some of the protestors, who included some overseas Pakistanis and those wishing to travel abroad, forced their way into the Expo hall and engaged in a heated exchange of words with the management. They said they wouldn’t leave without getting the jabs. The administration had to call in security to cope with the protestors.

A few other vaccination centres in the city were reportedly shut, in view of the shortage.

The incidents bring to light the issues that hamper a smooth supply of vaccines to the provincial metropolis. TNS has learnt that the shortage of AstraZeneca remains despite an announcement by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) last week that the vaccine would now be available for all adults.

Some other Covid-19 vaccines, such as Sinopharm and Sinovac have been restocked recently.

It may be mentioned here that AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech are among the vaccines that are accepted in most countries across the world, including Saudi Arabia.

Amjad Riaz, a resident of Gulberg, says that he planned to perform Umrah this year. For the purpose, he needed to be fully vaccinated with either of these vaccines which the government had reserved for Hajj/Umrah pilgrims and people with work visas. But he wasn’t successful. The vaccines were out of stock.

Riaz says he’s paid several visits to Expo Centre, but to no avail.

The government aims to vaccinate at least 70 million people by the end of this year. The official data shows that around 350,000 people are registering for vaccines on a daily basis. Talking to TNS, Sara Aslam, the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department secretary, denies that there is an acute shortage of Covid-19 vaccines in the Punjab in general and in Lahore in particular. She says that things are running smoothly insofar as the vaccination drive is concerned. “We’re making all-out efforts to achieve the target set by the NCOC.”

Sara Aslam, the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department secretary, rejects the notion that there is an acute shortage of Covid-19 vaccines in the Punjab in general and in Lahore in particular. She says that things are running smoothly insofar as the vaccination drive is concerned. “We’re making all-out efforts to achieve the target set by the NCOC.”

Aslam claims that all districts and tehsils of the province have got a fair supply of vaccines. “Fresh stocks of various kinds of vaccines have arrived, and there is no shortage whatsoever. So far, 8.78 million people have been vaccinated in the Punjab. Besides, in 36 cities [of the Punjab], people have the home vaccination facility.”

According to her, the earliest to get vaccinated include teachers, healthcare workers, doctors and foreigners. “The government has set up a vast network of vaccination centres at district and tehsil levels. More than 200 mobile camps are working round-the-clock, across the province, to vaccinate people at places they deem convenient. Additionally, 15-odd mobile health units are part of the vaccination drive.

She says the situation will improve further once more vaccine supplies are received.

Dr Waqas Ahmed, the deputy medical superintendent (DMS) at Mayo Hospital, says that there’s a shortage of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in the city. He says there are sufficient inventories of the Chinese vaccines but these can’t be administered to people wanting to travel to Europe, America or Saudi Arabia.

The problem, he says, started when the media mistakenly announced that there were huge stocks of AstraZeneca available at the Expo Centre. “Those wishing to go abroad then rushed to get their jabs. This created a massive issue not only for them but also for the [Expo Centre] administration.”

He adds, “In an emergency move, the government has released around 150,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines from its reserves to cities across the country, including Lahore. There’s no shortage of the vaccine now.”

The DMS says that the authorities have also taken up the issue with the Saudi government, asking it to accept pilgrims who’ve received Chinese vaccines.

The writer is a senior   journalist and can be reached at ahsanzia155@gmail.com