Covid-19: Second dose Sputnik V inoculations to start from July 31

The second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine will be available at the Sector 31 polyclinic from July 31, almost 21 days after the first shot of the vaccine was administered at the government centre

The second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine will be available at the Sector 31 polyclinic from July 31, almost 21 days after the first shot of the vaccine was administered at the government centre. The district health department received a stock of around 4,800 doses for the second dose drive on Wednesday.

People await their turn to take the first shot of Sputnik V vaccine at the Sector 31 polyclinic. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Gurugram is the only district in Haryana to conduct Sputnik V vaccinations at a government health centre and private hospitals.

“Only those people who have taken their first shot of Sputnik V at the polyclinic will be eligible to take their second shot at the same government facility from July 31 based on the date mentioned on their vaccination certificate. People who have taken their first dose in a private hospital will not be given a second shot of Sputnik V at the polyclinic,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer.

The Sputnik V inoculations at the polyclinic started on July 10 under corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, with vaccines procured from Dr Reddy’s Lab that has been importing the shots from Russia. The second dose of the vaccine has to be taken 21 days after the first shot. Till now, roughly 1,835 first doses of Sputnik V have been administered at the polyclinic.

According to the Co-WIN portal dashboard, 16,697 doses of Sputnik V were administered in the district till Wednesday as three private hospitals, Fortis, Narayana and Medanta. As per the government’s guidelines, the price of Sputnik V is capped at ₹1,145.

It is the third vaccine approved by the Centre to combat the coronavirus infection. The vaccine was developed by The Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia in 2020, and it shows over 91.6% efficacy against Covid-19. The vaccine has to be kept at -20° C to -25° C. It has to be kept outside for 15-20 minutes before it is administered.