E-Paper
Change in Covishield dose interval throws vaccination plan off-gear
PATNA The Centre’s decision on Thursday to increase the gap between the first and second dose of the Covishield vaccine against coronavirus to 12-16 weeks has thrown Bihar’s vaccination plan awry
PATNA
The Centre’s decision on Thursday to increase the gap between the first and second dose of the Covishield vaccine against coronavirus to 12-16 weeks has thrown Bihar’s vaccination plan awry.
Bihar, which planned to vaccinate aggressively its 7.51 crore target population of 18 years and above by setting up vaccination centres at schools, similar to polling booths during elections, now finds that many of its beneficiaries, who took the first jab in March, are still not eligible for the second dose.
Given the reluctance among the rural populace to take the vaccine, it is still not easy to get them to the vaccination centres. As a result, footfall at vaccination centres is dwindling.
“Our planning has been hampered by recurrent changes in vaccination guidelines for Covishield. This is the third time in three months that the Central government has widened the interval between Covishield doses. This has also created confusion among the public,” said an officer associated with the vaccination programme in the state.
Patna district immunisation officer Dr SP Vinayak said many people were enquiring why the interval between doses of Covishield was being changed frequently while that of Covaxin was constant (4-6 weeks).
“We tell them we have to follow government guidelines,” he said.
The revised recommendations come as several states, including Bihar, experience a shortage of vaccines. Bihar could vaccinate 124,104 people on Saturday as against 116,441 on Friday.
A few high caseload states of coronavirus like Maharashtra and Karnataka have halted vaccination for their 18-44 years population and diverted vaccines for 45 years and above people, especially those who have received the first shot, but couldn’t take the second jab due to paucity of vaccines.
Though Bihar has no immediate plans to curb vaccination for the younger age group, its vaccine availability is low.
The Centre had communicated an allocation of 7,64,850 doses of Covishield and 2,52,040 doses of Covaxin for the first fortnight of this month. However, the state was yet to receive 1,27,040 doses of Covaxin for the 45 years and above population till May 14, said sources.
Similarly, in the 18-44 years age category, Bihar’s allocation of Covishield was 16,39,250 doses, but the state had received 8,85,000 doses. For Covaxin, the allocation was 4,12,450 doses, but it had received 1,12,450 doses.
The state was left with 3,28,530 doses of vaccines for the 45+ population and 5,51,140 doses for the 18-44 years age group, as per government figures available till May 13.
