NEW DELHI – Hospitals in the midst of some hotspots in India are out of vaccines as infections have skyrocketed, prompting a rush to get vaccinated.
Hospitals in Mumbai and elsewhere are facing a growing number of people who want and have to decline an injection. Some people go from hospital to hospital to receive a vaccine. Some have started protests.
India has become the epicenter of the global pandemic as the number of new cases per day soared to over 120,000 this week from less than 20,000 last month. That’s more than any other country this week and higher than the first wave of infections that peaked in India in September.
Due to the sharp increase, the demand for the vaccine has increased. Some vaccination centers now have to deal with long lines and too few doses before everyone gets their shot.
Darius Lam, a South Mumbai resident, tried to take his elderly parents to two different hospitals on Thursday morning but was turned down. A third hospital had doses and they could only receive them because their age allowed them to avoid a long line of people.