Bmc-run centres run out of Corbevax; 2L await 2nd jab
No supply from state health dept for two months; parents have tough time as private facilities don’t keep it
MUMBAI: After Covishield, Corbevax has now gone out of stock in the inoculation centres run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). That means nearly half of the city’s adolescents - around two lakh - will have to wait to get their second dose since this is the only Covid-19 vaccine approved for those in the 12-15 age group. The private facilities, on the other hand, do not keep Corbevax at all.
“The supply of Corbevax from the state health department stopped two months ago and we exhausted the stock gradually. At present, we do not have Corbevax or Covishield. The only available vaccine is Covaxin,” an official from the BMC’S immunisation department said.
As per the BMC dashboard, till December 5, as many as 1,97,510 children in the 12-15 bracket had taken their first shot and 1,28,850 had received their second shot. The city has around 3.5-4 lakh adolescents. HT had on September 27 reported on the BMC’S storage facility running out of Covishield. When the civic body requested the state to supply more doses for the booster jab, it was told to suggest Corbevax instead since the Centre had already approved it for use on adults.
Dr Sachin Desai, state immunisation officer, said they had not received a fresh stock of either Corbevax or Covishield from the Centre. “We have inoculated most of the children in this age group. Those who have not can go to the private vaccination centres.”
Meanwhile, people wanting to take booster or get their children vaccinated are struggling as the stock is low with many private players as well.
“Initially, we were hesitant as my daughter, 15, was not comfortable getting herself inoculated. When the school advised us and she agreed, we gave her the first shot in mid-september at a centre in Wadala,” Gurminder Rekhi, a Sion resident, said. It was after 28 days when Rekhi had to give the second shot of Corbevax to his daughter Kavesha that he realised the vaccine was unavailable in the city.
“Every day, we would spend hours on the Cowin app to find a centre for the second shot. We finally found one in Thane in November. We had to take an off from her school and travel all the way there to complete the course. Corbevax was not available in the public sector there either,” he said.
Bhaskar Patwardhan, father of a 13-year-old boy, is still struggling to get the second shot. “Like many, I was also sceptical about getting my son vaccinated. With all his friends getting the vaccine and the school advising it, our son agreed. We got him the first shot by September-end but are now searching for a centre for the second dose. Cowin app does not show any such centres in the city,” the Kandivali resident said.
Hyderabad-based Biological E’s Corbevax was introduced for the 12-15 age group. On August 8, the union health ministry approved it as a precautionary dose based on the recommenda
Every day, we would spend hours on the Cowin app to find a centre for the second shot. GURMINDER REKHI
tions made by the Covid-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. As per the guidelines, those above 18 can take Corbevax as a booster dose after the completion of six months or 26 weeks from the date of administration of the second shot of either Covaxin or Covishield.