Maharashtra diverts jabs for 18+ to keep 2nd shots for 45+ moving
Amid the shortage of vaccine doses against the rising number of beneficiaries above the age of 45 waiting for their second shots, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to divert 310,000 Covaxin doses meant for those aged between 18 and 44 to the 45+ age group.
Amid the shortage of vaccine doses against the rising number of beneficiaries above the age of 45 waiting for their second shots, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to divert 310,000 Covaxin doses meant for those aged between 18 and 44 to the 45+ age group. Even though state health minister Rajesh Tope stopped short of suspending the inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group, officials feel it is likely to be halted owing to limited sessions.
Maharashtra has more than 2.1 million people above 45 years whose second dose is due, of which more than 500,000 are awaiting the second Covaxin shot. Tope said the decision to divert the stock was taken after the Centre asked states to use the stock procured for the third phase of the drive — the 18-44 age group. He said all vaccination centres have been directed to divert the stock . The state has received 600,000 doses of Covishield and 36,000 of Covaxin this week. Of them, 350,000 doses of Covishield were for the 18-44 age group, while the remaining stock was for 45+. Covishield is an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine locally manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and Covaxin is co-developed by Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and the Indian Council of Medical Research.
“I spoke to union heath minister Dr Harsh Vardhanji, requesting him for additional stock for the second doses of people above 45 years. He, however, informed us about the unavailability of doses and asked us to utilise the stock procured for the 18-44 age group. After talking with chief minister Uddhav Thackerayji, we have decided to divert the stock of 310,000 doses of Covaxin, which will now be made available for the second dose [for 45+]. This includes 275,000 doses of Covaxin procured by the state for 18-44 years and 35,000 supplied by the Centre,” said Tope.
“More than 500,000 people are waiting for second dose of Covaxin, while 1.6 million people are due for their second dose of Covishield. The diversion of the stock is expected to slow down the vaccination drive for the age group of 18-44 years. We will take a call how to go about the drive for this age group by talking to the task force,” he said.
“There is unrest among the people whose second dose is due as the uncertainty over the availability of the doses looms large. There was no other option, but to divert the stock procured by us from SII and Bharat Biotech. We can begin the vaccination of age group of 18-44 years with the stock of Covishield as and when we receive it,” said an official from the health department.
Maharashtra has vaccinated 15,140,471 people with 18,787,531 doses, with 375,713 administered on Tuesday.
“It is the responsibility of the Centre to provide the vaccines to the state for the vaccination of those above 45 years, but it is not being fulfilled by them. There will be no desired effect achieved if the second dose is not administered within a stipulated period. We have written to both SII and Bharat Biotech but there is no positive response from them. Perhaps the demand raised by us is huge in quantity,” Tope said.
Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has, however, said state governments should reserve at least 70% of stock supplied to them by the Centre for the second does. He said the states should prioritise the administration of second doses to address the issue of the large number of people waiting for their second doses.
Maharashtra’s BJP unit has, however, slammed the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, saying the shortage was because of mismanagement. “Tope has announced to suspend the drive for the age group of 18-44 by blaming the Centre. In fact, the shortage is because of the mismanagement and failure to procure the vaccine. The MVA government did not pay the manufacturers within the stipulated time and hence they have not been responding to the government positively. After the decision of procuring doses from two manufacturers was taken on April 28, the payment was done only on May 7,” he accused.
Tope also said the Centre should give nod to other international companies for the supply of their vaccines in India. “The Centre should give the approvals to other vaccines, like they have given it to Sputnik V. We are ready to import them through global tenders. The Central authorities should act on this, so that state can directly procure them through global tenders.”
