Delhi govt directs authorities to triple Covid-19 shots

On Tuesday, most of the vaccination sites also opened up walk-in facilities for those between the ages of 18 and 45 years, with half the slots at each centre being reserved for unscheduled vaccinations.

The Delhi government has directed all the districts in the Capital to triple the number of Covid-19 shots being administered each day from Wednesday, by increasing the number of centres for those in the 18-45 age group, opening up centres that immunise only those above the age of 45 years to the younger age group as well, and using the vaccine doses provided by the Central government for all categories.

“The number of vaccination centres will be increased by around 25% across Delhi from tomorrow (Wednesday),” said a senior district official. (HT Photo)

On Tuesday, most of the vaccination sites also opened up walk-in facilities for those between the ages of 18 and 45 years, with half the slots at each centre being reserved for unscheduled vaccinations.

“The number of vaccination centres will be increased by around 25% across Delhi from tomorrow (Wednesday),” said a senior district official.

Currently, there are 1,040 vaccination sites across Delhi, of which only 30% are meant for those between the ages of 18 and 45 years. “By tonight, we should also get an order from the state government to use all vaccine doses – whether sent by the Centre or purchased by the state – across age groups,” said the official.

So far, the free doses provided by the Centre were meant for only those above the age of 45 years, while the state government procured separate doses to vaccinate the young. The policy changed on Monday with Centre now providing all vaccine doses for free.

Even as the number of shots given on the first day of the new vaccination drive soared to 8.5 million across the country on Monday, Delhi recorded lower than usual with 76,062 doses. Delhi administers over 84,000 shots on an average every day, with nearly 67% of it for those in the 18-45 age group.

“The number of vaccinations go down in the city whenever doses for the youth are unavailable because more than 50% of those above the age of 45 years have already been immunised, with many still not eligible to get the shot after being infected during the previous wave. The Centre’s guideline states that vaccine should be administered only three months after an infection. Also, some people are of course hesitant,” said AAP MLA Atishi.

Akriti Sagar, district magistrate (central), said they started walk-in for everyone from Tuesday in vaccination centres run by the Delhi government. “We have started walk-in vaccination for 18-45-year-olds now. Officers at session sites have now been directed to keep 50% of the vaccine stock for those who walk-in and the other half for those who have registered through the CoWin portal,” she said.

Ankita Chakravarty, south Delhi DM, and Isha Khosla, DM (north), also confirmed that walk-in vaccinations for those above 18 years of age started in their district from Tuesday.

The centres in South district, where this has begun, include Gargi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Green Park extension, Government boys senior secondary school, Malviya Nagar, and Government co-ed school, Masjid Moth. All these centres are using vaccine stocks for walk-ins and pre-registered beneficiaries on a 50:50 basis.

Some districts were yet to allow walk-ins at their vaccination sites. “We will begin walk-in vaccination for 18-45-year-olds tomorrow (Wednesday). We have been given the mandate to increase vaccination three folds. Currently, we are immunising around 4,000 people a day; tomorrow we expect to immunise at least 10,000,” said a senior official from South east district.