Gurgaon: Most of the doses of
Covaxin earmarked for the city will be used by a single hospital to vaccinate its staff and those of nearby hospitals. Gurgaon has received 4,200 doses of Covaxin, out of which 3,600 (85%) will be used at Max Hospital. While 1,800 doses will be given in the first round of vaccinations, the remaining will be given after 28 days. “We had a discussion with
Max Hospital regarding Covaxin, and they requested us to provide 1,800 Covaxin doses. This is a good move and we will be providing them the doses as per availability,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurgaon.
Max started vaccination at three session sites on its premises on Monday, where 300 healthcare workers were supposed to get vaccinated with
Covishield, but less than a quarter turned up. It hasn’t received any doses of Covaxin so far. Dr Rajiv Dang, medical director at Max Hospital, said, “We will like to take Covaxin from the health department and have requested them for the
vaccine.”
On the first day of vaccinations (Saturday), 39 health care workers were administered with Covaxin in Gurgaon. There has been apprehension regarding the possible side-effects of Covaxin, and thus several healthcare workers have refused to take Covaxin. “We have received information that people have been refusing to take Covaxin, but it is a better vaccine compared to Covishield,” CMO Yadav said.