Supply chain constraints lead to closure of COVID-19 vaccine centers across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of COVID-19 vaccination centers in different parts of Pakistan have discontinued their services due to supply chain obstacles, admitted officials involved in the country’s immunization drive on Thursday, as the government said it would provide additional supplies to all provinces by Sunday to resolve the issue.
The vaccine shortage has particularly hit the Sindh province where the authorities have shut down at least 40 percent of the inoculation centers. People in Punjab have also complained about the unavailability of vaccines in cities like Lahore, Chakwal, Jhelum and Rawalpindi along with several rural areas of the province.
“We are facing vaccine supply issues from the federal government and that is why we have temporarily shut down about 40 percent of vaccination centers,” Mehar Khursheed, a Sindh health department spokesperson, told Arab News.
She said the federal government had promised to ensure smooth supply of vaccines by June 20 (Sunday), adding that all vaccination centers would become operational again after the province replenished its stocks.
“We are short of all four vaccines: SinoPharm, CanSino, SinoVac and AstraZeneca,” Khursheed added. “Hopefully, we’ll get their fresh stocks by Sunday.”
Pakistan has received 14.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccines since it kicked off its immunization campaign in February and plans to procure and receive over 90 million more jabs to inoculate much of its adult population during the second half of this year, according to the health ministry.
The country’s federal government is responsible to ensure smooth COVID-19 vaccine supply to provinces in keeping with their population density. The federal government has also allocated $1.1 billion in its newly announced budget to procure coronavirus shots from the international market.
Besides the country’s southern Sindh province, Punjab is also facing vaccine shortages in numerous districts where people have been turned away from various vaccination facilities.
“We are told to come after two to three days to get the shots,” 46-year-old Muhammad Afzal, who recently visited the District Headquarters Hospital in Chakwal for inoculation, told Arab News.
“Doctors on duty told us they would get these vaccines from Punjab government in the next couple of days and then resume the immunization process,” he said.
However, the Punjab government plainly rejected any vaccine shortage despite reports of such incidents emerging from different parts of the province.
“There is not any shortage of vaccine in Punjab,” Hammad Raza Bukhari, a spokesperson for the province’s health department, told Arab News.
Dr. Faisal Sultan, who advises Prime Minister Imran Khan on public health, and Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar, a top official at the ministry of national health services, did not respond to Arab News queries despite repeated phone calls and text messages.
Sultan described the COVID-19 vaccine shortage at some vaccination centers as a “temporary” issue on Wednesday, hoping that the situation would improve after June 20.
“There are more than 2,000 vaccination centers in the country and the number of visitors varies,” he maintained. “So, there may be a shortage of vaccines at some centers.”
Sultan also added that over two million vaccine doses were currently available in the country.
“So, this [vaccine supply] process will continue, and it will improve after June as we get more vaccines,” he said.