Makeshift site at Pusa Rd boosts jabs drive on Day 2
The expanded inoculation programme for people aged between 18 and 44 picked up pace in the national capital on Tuesday at 301 vaccination sites across 77 government schools, and at a large makeshift facility set up by a private hospital in central Delhi.
Over 89,000 people received a shot of either Serum Institute of India’s Covishield or Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin on Monday, after the numbers dropped to just over 1,500 on Sunday, with just one government site and a handful of private sites operating on the day.
Tuesday’s vaccination numbers, which the government did not disclose till the time of going to press, are likely to be boosted by a temporary vaccination facility set up in 48 hours by BLK-MAX Super Speciality Hospital at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) campus on Pusa Road.
The makeshift facility currently has 20 vaccination sites, while 30 will be added later; these will allow the hospital to administer 10,000 jabs a day, officials said.
Over 3,000 jabs of Covishield, at ₹900 a dose, were administered at the centre on Tuesday.
The doses were provided by Max Healthcare, which procured vials directly from the Serum Institute of India (SII).
“The facility is spread out
NEW DELHI:
over a large area, and patient flows have been organised in a manner that ensures social distancing, with Covid norms being followed at all times,” the hospital said in a statement.
Dr Abhay Soi, chairman and managing director, Max Healthcare, said, “I am happy to share that our team has been able to set up this facility in just about 48 hours with complete support from members of RSSB. We will scale up vaccinations in the coming days and try and reach out to as many people as possible.”
While vaccinations also picked up in government schools that were converted into vaccination points exclusively for the 18-44 age group, people reported a lack of social distancing and delays for the second day in a row.
Amrita Paul, 28, who went to a school in Sangam Vihar, said that although she booked a 9am slot, she got her shot only after 11am because of a delay in the delivery of doses.
“I reached the centre at 8.45am and there was already a queue outside. Once the gates opened, people rushed in, but the vaccines hadn’t arrived. People kept standing in the queue, but got impatient as the day started to get hotter. However, once doses arrived and the tokens were handed out, it just took 10 minutes to get the shot,” she said.
Some others, however, said the vaccination system was efficient. “We feel quite relieved now. It is amazing how efficiently resources are being managed to run vaccine sites in public schools smoothly,” said Deepak Vohra, a lawyer, who along with his wife Shilpa Vohra, a teacher, took the first dose of vaccine at a school in New Ashok Nagar.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over supplies meant that vaccination sites run by private centres fell behind. There were only 65 sites run by private centres on Tuesday, according to the government’s CO-WIN portal, of which 20 were at the BLK site in Pusa Road. Private hospitals said they had no assurance from Delhi government on receiving doses, while the two vaccine manufacturers in the country turned down requests for supplies.
“No vaccines are available from either of the companies,” said an administrator from Holy Family hospital. Sir Ganga Ram hospital previously said that Serum Institute of India told them that vaccine doses will be available only after six months, whereas Bharat Biotech said it would get back.
Dr Narin Sehgal, Delhi secretary of the Association of Healthcare Providers (India), said, “We haven’t received any communication from the Delhi government as well.” The Delhi government has ordered 13.4 million doses, split into half Covaxin and Covishield.