Post-Diwali, status on Aarogya Setu app may be considered as permit for single dose beneficiaries: Rajesh Tope

PUNE: The state health minister, Rajesh Tope, on Saturday said the “safe status” on the Aarogya Setu app might be considered as the permit for the individuals with single dose of Covid vaccine to participate in all activities in the opened-up sectors post-Diwali, primarily because of the long gap between two shots of Covishield.

“We shall examine the possibility of using the status on the Aarogya Setu app in case a person has taken a single dose of Covishield, as the current gap between its two doses is 84 days. If cases continue to remain low post-Diwali, we shall discuss it with state task force members and the experts,” he told TOI.

Tope said he had approached the Centre regarding reducing the gap between the two doses of Covishield, but the central government authorities ruled it out. Besides Maharashtra, some other states had also approached the Centre to reduce the gap.

A senior official of the Union health ministry on Saturday said as of now, there was no plan to change the gap between the two doses of Covishield because scientific studies showed its higher efficacy with a longer interval. Another official said any changes would be made based on scientific evidence only and not on random demands.

Recently, the state government in its guidelines for reopening cinemas, theatres and auditoriums from October 22 with 50% seating capacity gave the options of “safe status” on the Aarogya Setu app or Covid vaccination certificates as the permit to enter the facilities.

“The alternative to show the health status on the Aarogya Setu app was allowed because many cannot complete the Covishield vaccination despite its availability because of the almost three-month gap between its two doses,” said a health official of Maharashtra.

The state was allocated 1.8 crore Covishield doses for October as against 39.74 lakh Covaxin doses. Nearly 57 lakh beneficiaries would be due for the second dose of Covishield in the coming month, while 14 lakh would be due for the second Covaxin shot, said a state public health official.

Till October 15, the state administered 9.07 crore Covid vaccine doses. Of them, a total of 6.29 crore (70%) were given to first dose beneficiaries. As many as 2.78 crore (30%) people have been completely vaccinated in Maharashtra. The state has set a target of conducting 9-10 lakh vaccinations daily.