14-day stock of Covishield left for 45+ age group: Delhi govt
Delhi records 946 Covid cases, 78 deaths; vaccination of 18-44 age group suspended for 7th day
New Delhi, May 30: About 3.5 lakh Covid vaccines are available in Delhi for the 45-plus age group, including over 3 lakh doses of Covishield, which may last for 14 days, AAP MLA Atishi said on Sunday.
Even though the national capital received a fresh stock of 48,000 doses of Covaxin on Saturday, it is being kept for those requiring the second dose, she said. “For the 45-plus age group there are about 3.5 lakh doses available, including about 40,000 doses of Covaxin and 3.25 lakh doses of Covishield.
“The Covaxin doses are only being given to those who need the second dose because there are many people who have taken their first dose and were waiting for the second one. We have Covishield stock for another 14 days,” Ms Atishi said during the daily vaccination bulletin.
While the vaccination of the 18-44 age group remained suspended for the seventh day, she alleged that the Delhi government was not receiving the vaccines while the private hospitals were inoculating those in this age group by charging exorbitant rates.
She alleged that both the companies, Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute, told the Delhi government that they can only send vaccines based on what the Centre tells them.
“When we approached both the companies to buy 1.5 crore vaccines, both the companies told us that they will only send vaccines based on what the Central government tells them,” she said.
She added that vaccination for 18-44 age group was only “available at private hospitals, which are charging anywhere between `900 and `1,400 per dose.”
“How is it possible that the Delhi government, which is vaccinating people for free, doesn’t have a single vaccine dose but the private hospitals, which are charging exorbitant prices for vaccination, are doing so without any trouble,” she said.