Kolkata: Many refuse Covaxin across pvt hosps

Kolkata: Scores of recipients have refused to take Covaxin — India’s home-grown vaccine which is backed by the government — across Kolkata’s private hospitals, some of which received a larger supply of the indigenous vaccine over the last few days. At two private hospitals, around 5%-10% of recipients said they will take only Covishield, the local version of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine that is believed to be safer and more effective. The state is now giving hospitals the option to choose one and some have opted for Covishield.

Thirteen recipients rejected Covaxin at Peerless Hospital on Wednesday. The hospital has received only Covaxin vials for recipients’ first dose this week. “Prior to this week, we had received only Covishield and there were no refusals. Some are wary of Covaxin, but we can’t help them since we have received only Covaxin vials for recipients’ first dose,” said CEO Sudipta Mitra.



More than 150 received their first dose at Peerless on Thursday. “Some had refused Covaxin initially, but we managed to counsel and convince them,” said Mitra.

He added that many were seeking advice on whether Covaxin was safe. “We are telling them that since our governments have endorsed them, both should be taken to be safe and effective. They are, however, reluctant,” said Mitra.

Five recipients left the vaccination sites at RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences on Tuesday when told that the hospital was administering only Covaxin. RTIICS has since opted for Covishield. “We have been giving Covishield since January. Some are wary of Covaxin and, since we were given a choice, we decided to stick to Covishield,” said zonal head R Venkatesh.

The preference for Covisield was “unfounded and unscientific”, said oncologist Subir Ganguly. “According to the latest studies, Covaxin has a higher efficacy. These are people who have been wrongly guided by social media. It’s important to get the vaccine and there’s no reason to believe that Covaxin will be ineffective or dangerous,” said Ganguly.

AMRI Hospitals have been administering only Covishield at its Salt Lake and Mukundapur units while the Dhakuria unit offered both. “We have separate sites for the two and are giving recipients the option to choose. There have been some who refused to take a Covaxin shot in recent weeks. Since the Dhakuria unit has both, around 70% chose Covishield this week,” said CEO Rupak Barua.