Pune steps up Covid-19 vaccination drive but stares at supply shortage

Worst affected district in the second wave, Pune struggles to fulfil vaccine capacity

The wailing siren of ambulances tears through the streets of Pune. They carry the sick to the fast-filling hospitals in the city, which is now the worst affected in the country in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of infected and those who need hospitalisation is mounting every day. 

Pune recorded 4,426 new cases on March 28. With its population of 3.1 million, this translates to 1,500 cases per million in a day. (The number of Covid deaths in Pune city has hovered between 25 and 30 for the last few days.) The spread of the disease in