Mumbai: Amid the shortage of vaccine doses against the rising number of beneficiaries above the age of 45 waiting for their second shots, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to divert 310,000 Covaxin doses meant for the 18-44 age group to the 45+ group. Even though state health minister Rajesh Tope stopped short of suspending the inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group, officials feel it is likely to be halted owing to limited sessions. Maharashtra has more than 2.1 million people above 45 years whose second dose is due, of which more than 500,000 are awaiting the second Covaxin dose. Tope on Tuesday said the decision to divert the stock was taken after the central government asked states to use the stock procured by them for the third phase of the drive — the 18-44 age group. He said all vaccination centres in the state have been directed to divert the stock meant for the 18-44 age group.

The state has 600,000 doses of Covishield and 36,000 of Covaxin, received this week. Of them, 350,000 doses of Covishield were for the 18-44 age group, while the remaining stock was for 45+.

“I spoke to union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhanji, requesting him for an additional stock for the second doses of people above 45 years. He, however, informed us about the unavailability of doses and asked us to utilise the stock procured for the 18-44 age group. After talking with chief minister Uddhav Thackerayji, we have decided to divert the stock of 310,000 doses of Covaxin, which will now be made available for the second dose [for 45+]. This includes 275,000 doses of Covaxin procured by the state for 18-44 years and 35,000 supplied by the Centre,” said Tope.

“More than 500,000 people are waiting for the second dose of Covaxin, while 1.6 million people are due for their second dose of Covishield. The diversion of the stock is expected to slow down the vaccination drive for the age group of 18-44 years. We will take a call on how to go about the drive for this age group by talking to the task force,” he said.

Maharashtra has vaccinated 15,140,471 people with 18,787,531 doses, with 375,713 administered on Tuesday.

Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, however, said state governments should reserve at least 70% of stock supplied to them for the second dose. He said the states should prioritise the administration of second doses to address the issue of the large number of people waiting for their second doses.