100 days after first shot, no clarity on which dose Andheri woman got

MUMBAI: It’s been over 100 days since 58-year-old Meena Upadhyaya received her first jab of the Covid-19 vaccine, but confusion about which vaccine she received has led to a delay in her second shot. While Upadhyaya says the hospital is not confident about which dose she got, the hospital says she got Covishield.

The Andheri resident took her first dose at the Holy Spirit Hospital on April 16. A receipt acknowledging the payment of ₹250 was also stamped with Covishield. On May 14, 84 days after the first shot when Upadhyaya became eligible for the second dose, she found that her certificate on CoWin mentioned Covaxin. “We immediately rushed to the hospital for clarity. They told us that their records showed that she was given Covaxin,” said Upadhyaya’s husband, Kishore. “But there was no vaccine stock available with them. A few weeks later, the hospital said she had received Covishield. We are worried to take the second shot as the hospital is not confident about which vaccine was administered,” he said.

When Hindustan Times reached out to Sister Sneha Joseph, the executive director of

Holy Spirit Hospital, she said that their inquiry showed that Upadhyaya was administered Covishield. “We have received Covaxin on two to three days only,” said Joseph. “We are sure that she was given Covishield.”

Upadhyaya is worried about the possible side effects if she lands up getting a mixed dose. In this scenario, it could be a possibility that there was an error while entering the data on CoWin. The other possibility could also be that the hospital receipt was mistakenly stamped with Covishield. Joseph refused to comment on it.

Prashant Sapkale, assistant municipal commissioner of the K-East ward that covers Andheri, said a mixed dose is not advisable as per the protocol. “The hospital has to thoroughly investigate which vaccine was given and only then administer the second dose,” he said, adding, “We will look into our records about the vaccines that were supplied to the hospital.”

Oxford- AstraZeneca’s Covishield manufactured by the

Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin have very distinct technologies. Covishield has been made with a viral vector platform, while Covaxin is an inactivated viral vaccine.

Last month, India’s central drug authority permitted Christian Medical College, Vellore to conduct a clinical trial by mixing the two vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin. Findings of a study carried out in Spain showed potent immune response by administering a mix of Oxford– AstraZeneca and Pfizer–BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccines. Another study carried out in the United Kingdom on the same combination of vaccines observed people experienced higher vaccine-related side effects. In June, the ICMR mandated that centres stick to the same vaccines. Infectious disease expert Dr Om Shrivastava said, “Till the evidence proves otherwise, mixed doses would mean playing with immunity.”

However, physician Dr Jalil Parkar, who practises at Bandra’s Lilavati Hospital, said there is nothing to worry about a mixed dose in this rare case. Vaccination expert Dr Naveen Thacker, who is also a former civil society representative to GAVI, the vaccine alliance board, said Upadhyaya should go ahead and take the second jab.

Meena Upadhyaya