A woman is taking the vaccine shot in Pune.
(Express Photo) There are at least three lakh people in the age group of 45-59 years in Pune district, both Covishield and Covaxin beneficiaries, who are immediately due for second dose of the vaccine against Covid-19. There is an urgent need to administer the vaccine doses to this group and the state is re-allocating doses meant for the 18-44 age group for those who need the second dose.
These three lakh include persons who have completed 45 days since the first dose of Covishield was administered and 30 days since the first dose of Covaxin was administered.
According to state Health department data, till May 11 the state has administered the vaccine to 1.88 crore beneficiaries. Of the 1.19 crore beneficiaries in the 45+ age group, a total of 23.17 lakh have got the second dose so far. In Pune, 16.41 lakh beneficiaries have been administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine and 3.08 lakh have been administered both doses.
Due to lack of adequate supply of vaccine doses, State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that those in the 45 + age group would get priority for administering the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Directives were issued to reallocate doses meant for the 18-44 age group to administer second doses for the beneficiaries in the 45 + age group.
Across the state, there are as many as 20 lakh beneficiaries who need to be administered the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. State health officials said there are at least five lakh beneficiaries who have completed four to five weeks since they got their first shot of Covaxin and were now due for the second dose.
In Pune district, a total of 79,149 beneficiaries (18-44 age group) have got the first jab since the third phase of the vaccination programme started on May 1. Overall in the state, a total of 5.96 lakh beneficiaries in this age group (18-44) have been administered the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, assistant director (health) of Pune Circle, which includes Pune, Satara and Solapur districts, said the state has sent a supply of 75,500 Covishield doses while Solapur has got 21,500 and Satara has got 17,400 doses.
When contacted, vaccine expert Dr Gagandeep Kang told The Indian Express that protection with one dose of Covishield vaccine was 72 per cent, and it was about 84 per cent with two doses in high-exposure settings. So, if the dose was administered on April 1, the beneficiary could wait for three months at least with the Covishield vaccine, said Dr Kang.
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