No Covaxin first doses given at govt sites since June-end

Gurgaon: Government session sites in the city have not been able to administer any Covaxin first doses through July as supply of the Bharat Biotech-produced vaccine remains thin. The last time anyone received the first shot of Covaxin was June 30.
The second dose of Covaxin must be given within four to six weeks of the first jab. The health department has had to ration the vaccine to ensure those who got the first dose get their second dose on time. A total of 52,213 people who got their first shots of Covaxin at government session sites in June were due for their second doses in July. So far this month, only 29,369 out of these recipients have got the second Covaxin jabs, which means 22,844 others are yet to complete their dosage.
Some private hospitals in the city are giving first as well as second doses of Covaxin, but these aren’t free. In July, about 8,000 people received their first doses of Covaxin while nearly 2,000 people got the second shots.
Compared to June, Haryana’s Covaxin stock, and accordingly Gurgaon’s too, has gone down considerably this month. While the state had received 3.25 lakh doses of Covaxin in June, the supply came down to 1.64 lakh in July. Gurgaon, which had received 1.1 lakh doses of Covaxin last month, got 43,000 doses this month. After administering shots to more than 29,000 people, the city is now left with a little more than 13,600 Covaxin doses.
This has led to some concern among Covaxin recipients. Ankita Soni, a resident of Sector 48 who is due for her second shot, ruled out going to a private hospital. “I have been hearing about vaccination issues in those centres. But walk-ins at government sites are tricky as there is no guarantee that one can get a slot,” she said.
The pace of vaccination has been slow overall because of a shortage of vaccines. “We are not giving Covaxin first doses this month as there are more than 22,000 people due for their second doses. We will resume the first slots once we inoculate all those due for the second jab,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurgaon.
Dr Virender Ahlawat, state immunization officer, said earlier too, preference had been given to people who needed to get second doses. “Several districts have halted first doses and are administering only second doses,” he said, adding that they are expecting a smooth supply by mid-August.