Low vaccine supply and the second wave of the novel coronavirus have hit government-run hospitals and health centres in several south Bengal districts particularly hard after preliminary phases of an aggressive poll season ended.

Following the central government’s announcement of open market vaccinations starting May 1, the rush to take first doses is bound to hit services at health centres in Birbhum and Burdwan.

“People were reluctant to take vaccine earlier. But the new wave of cases has caused them to wake up. Unfortunately, it is a delayed response because our public health infrastructure will simply not be able to keep up, especially after May 1,” said a health worker at the Bolpur block hospital, adding that decentralisation of the vaccination drive was the only viable option.

“To make matters worse, the oppressive summer will also inconvenience a lot of people,” he added.

Since Monday, health centres and block hospitals across these two districts have witnessed a surge of nearly 500 per cent in willing first-dose recipients, but have not even had a fifth of the stock. At the Bolpur block hospital on Tuesday, less than 50 people received their first doses.

Sources said second-dose recipients would have to be given priority.

“We don’t see an end in sight to this problem soon. May 1 is less than two weeks away and those who should have got both doses by now are queuing up for their first,” said a source in Burdwan. “And even then, most are not getting it because of shortage.”

Latika Dey, 50, works as a domestic help at homes across Bolpur. On Wednesday morning, she joined an already-long queue at her local health centre around 6am but was turned away in a couple of hours.

“At this rate, I will not be able to return to work nor receive my first dose soon,” she said.

Nearby, retired schoolteacher Nidhi Ram Chowdhury, 74, sat under a tree exasperated. “This heat is too much,” said the septuagenarian who was awaiting his first dose.

In Hooghly, cable operator Dilip Das has been visiting different block health centres since Monday but has not been able to receive his first dose of the vaccine.

“In my line of work, being inoculated is important. But it seems the health infrastructure is not prepared,” he said.

“There is a vaccine shortage now. However, many of the current recipients should have come forward sooner,” said a senior health official in Burdwan.

“Our infrastructure and personnel cannot handle such a sudden load.”