Goa unable to start vaccination for people above 18 due to lack of doses

The Goa government could not start the drive to inoculate the 18 to 45 age group in the state on Saturday due to unavailability of vaccine doses. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the state has placed an order for doses with the Pune-based Serum Institute of India.

"People should not rush to health centres as the vaccination for those in the age group of 18 to 45 years is yet to start. It will begin once we procure vaccine doses," he told reporters.

The vaccination drive for people above 45 will continue as per schedule, he added.


The coastal state, a tourist hotspot, is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases and has been reporting around 3,000 infections every day over the last five days.

More worryingly, as of Friday, it was recording an extremely high test positivity rate of over 50 per cent.