GB Nagar’s 45+ group is on futile hunt for second dose of Covaxin
Residents of Gautam Budh Nagar who are due for their second shot of Covaxin say they are finding it difficult to get the shot. The gap between two doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine is a minimum of 28 days. Those in the 45+ category who got their first dose in April, are now looking to get the second dose but to no avail.
Vaccinations for this category were opened on April 1
As per the Cowin portal, two government healthcare centres and one private hospital are administering Covaxin for the 45+ category in the district. However, after May 18, these centres have no slots available.
“I was administered the first dose of Covaxin at a private hospital in Sector 63 on April 13. However, when I was due for the second dose, I found that the hospital did not have it. I searched on the Cowin portal but all slots are booked or show ‘not available’. Many of my neighbours are also facing the same problem and people are running from hospital to hospital for a second dose of Covaxin but are unable to find it,” said Anusuya Singh, 50, a resident of Sector 61, Noida.
When asked, the district’ Covid-19 nodal officer, Narendra Bhooshan, said, “Due to a change in government directives, private hospitals now have to procure vaccines on their own. If people are finding trouble in getting the second dose, I will study this issue and ensure that it gets
resolved soon”.
Earlier this month, an Uttar Pradesh government order directed that those people, whose second coronavirus disease vaccine dose is due, need not book a slot again and can simply walk-in at healthcare centres where they got the vaccine earlier, for their subsequent one. “For those who got their first dose at a private hospital and are not able to get the subsequent one at the same hospital, can walk in to any government centre that is providing the vaccine for it,” added Bhooshan.
Sector 30 resident Diwakar Mahajan (55) said that a private hospital in Sector 29, where he got the first dose of Covaxin, has put up a notice asking people to go to the government centre where it is available.
“The notice said that the second
dose of Covaxin will be given at the Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) Raipur in Sector 127 on Saturday. However, by the time I reached there, the doses were over and I was asked to come again later,” said Mahajan.
As per the district immunisation officer Dr Neeraj Tyagi, only two healthcare centres in the district—uphc Surajpur, Greater Noida and UPHC Raipur, Sec 126 are administering Covaxin doses for the 45+ category. “Each of the centres has a capacity of 200 vaccines per day with a 30:70 ratio for the first dose and the second dose for walk-ins, respectively,” said Dr Tyagi. However, he did not divulge how many Covaxin doses are left in the slot as the Cowin portal on Monday evening showed vaccines are ‘not available’ at the two centres from Tuesday.
Rohit Verma, a resident of Sector 137, said he got the second dose of Covaxin via the walk-in mode at UPHC Raipur on Saturday. “Though the centre was booked on Cowin, I walked in and got my mother (73) vaccinated with her second dose of Covaxin without any waiting time or hassle,” he said.
For the 18-44 category, Covaxin is being administered at Father Agnel School in Sector 62 and at Harola UPHC.
According to the district’s chief medical officer, Dr Deepak Ohri, the total vaccine stock available in the district, including Covishield, is 20,000 as of Monday evening.
Meanwhile, an official from Fortis Hospital Noida, which is also administering Covaxin, said that while they are allowing walk-ins for the second dose of Covaxin, there is only a limited stock left.
As per official data, 7,901 people got vaccinated in the district on Monday, of which 5,238 from the 18-44 category got the first dose. In 60+ category, 612 got the first dose and 75 got the second dose. In the 45-59 category, 1,657 got the first dose and 228 people got the second dose.