An acute shortage of Pentavalent vaccine is being faced in entire Larkana district after the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic and Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) authorities have done nothing as yet to prevent this situation except to issue a letter to all District Health Officers (DHOs) across the province entitled shortage of EPI vaccine supplies due to COVID-19 outbreak on 6th April. In this connection, a child Aaliyan Fahad due for Pentavalent vaccine on Thursday was brought to Rural Health Centre in Naundero on Thursday for vaccination but the duty vaccinators sent him back telling the parents that the vaccine has become unavailable after lockdown. The parents got extremely worried as they were told by their physicians that vaccine dozes should not be missed. In the letter, Dr Muhammad Akram Sultan, Project Director, EPI Sindh, informed all DHOs that “due to the current scenario of COVID-19 outbreak and disruption of flight operations, there is acute shortage of EPI vaccines at Provincial EPI store”. It is, therefore, he added, “requested to convey the message to all dealing hands at all levels (i-e EPI Focal Person, UCMOs, DSVs, TSVs, Vaccinators, District Managers PPHI and other relevant staff of private vaccination centres) to use the available stock of vaccines carefully to reach the maximum number of children by minimizing the open and close vial wastage of EPI vaccines”. He further wrote “I hope you understand the seriousness of the situation and manage it accordingly”. Copies of this letter have also been sent to Health Secretary Karachi, Director General, Health Services, Sindh, Hyderabad, National EPI Program Manager in Islamabad and other relevant authorities for information. When this scribe talked to Dr. Farooq Shaikh, EPI Focal Person in Larkana, he said that this vaccine is not only unavailable in Larkana district but it is also short in entire Sindh due to unavailability of transport because of lockdown. He however claimed, its alternate is available. He claimed that doze of the same vaccine will be repeated when it is made available and there is no harm in it even if it is vaccinated after two – three months and there will be no effect on child’s health because, he continued. it’s not BCG vaccine which may have created problems. Retired DHO Larkana, Dr. Khalilullah Shaikh said that due to ongoing pandemic of coronavirus when all segments of the society are affected in one or another way health delivery is no exception. He said EPI is one of the most vital preventive interventions to save children and women from some nine vaccine-preventable diseases including polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pneumonia, measles, meningitis, whooping cough, tuberculosis and hepatitis. Dr. Shaikh further said that disrupted supply-chain system has affected EPI to an extent that some of the antigens (vaccines) have either become short or are near to exhaust. It is feared that if their timely replenishment is not done the health and well-being of children and women would be at risk of otherwise preventable diseases, he concluded. Sources in the Larkana’s district health office when contacted also confirmed the shortage of the vaccine saying that at present there is acute shortage of Pentavalent vaccine (combination of five vaccines given to the child as a single dose, one each against diphtheria, whooping cough, childhood tetanus, hepatitis and meningitis) in the district. Other vaccines against measles, polio, pneumonia, and tetanus of women are available and sufficient for the remaining days of April 2020 and the first week of May 2020, sources added. These sources further said that due to restrictions of lockdown the turnout of children and women at EPI centres in the district has also reduced to minimal. The people of Larkana have demanded of the provincial government to take emergency measures to ensure the regular / uninterrupted supply of vaccines and other relevant logistics (syringes, needles etc) on war footings so that the programme is run smoothly without any shortages.