Covaxin for 18-45 bracket only for 2nd dose, HC told
The Delhi government on Monday told the Delhi high court that it has directed all state-run vaccination centres, private hospitals and nursing homes that Covaxin shots will only be administered to those due for their second dose in the 18-45 age group, a day after it passed an order to this effect, even as residents of the Capital who booked slots for a first dose of Covaxin complained that their appointments were cancelled.
Advocate Anuj Aggarwal, additional standing counsel of the Delhi government, told justice Rekha Palli that an additional 40,000 vials of Covaxin were arranged for the city on June 6 so that beneficiaries can
NEW DELHI:
be inoculated within the stipulated four-to-six-week period.
The submissions came while the court was hearing individual petitions by three Delhi residents who said they were not able to get their second Covaxin dose in the city and had to travel to other cities, such as Meerut and Chandigarh, to get the jab within the mandated timeframe.
Aggarwal told the court that the Delhi chief secretary in the June 6 order said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) directed that all private hospitals and nursing homes administering Covaxin to ensure jabs are given only to those in line for the second dose.
The Delhi government’s health department on June 3 issued similar directions to all government Covid-19 vaccination centres.
During the hearing, the petitioners said no Covaxin doses were available in the city between May 25 and June, and that the six-week period to get the second dose will end on June 14 for several people.
The court asked the Centre and the Delhi government to take instructions to examine whether the slots being opened for second dose vaccination can be increased and posted the matter for June 11.
The Centre, in its affidavit filed through advocate Anurag Ahluwalia, said the Cowin system provides the list of beneficiaries due for the second dose on a given day, along with their name and contact details to enable state and district officials to actively track these recipients.