Around 11 crore people who have taken the first shot of Covid-19 vaccine have not got themselves jabbed with the second dose even after the expiry of the prescribed interval between two doses, according to government data.
The Central American country has reported 469,440 COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic and 7,275 deaths. More than 5.5 million vaccine doses have been administered since January, covering most of the eligible population.
Almost 40% of the elderly population that received the first dose has missed out on the second, which is a cause of concern.
The government plans to maximise coverage of the first dose of Covid vaccination by September-October to ensure a considerable adult population is fully vaccinated, or has received at least one dose, by the end of this year.
If we consider the 12-week gap, we have to look at the total number of persons from the priority groups who got their first dose till May 31, about 15.1 crore. Then the number of those who were supposed to get their second dose but haven’t swells to 3.9 crore.
Due to mega vaccination drive, a lot of people have shed their inhibitions and they are now turning up for vaccination. But this huge surge in crowds at most centres has resulted in shortage of vaccine, said official sources.
Those wards were identified based on voter lists of areas. All those, without any dose of vaccine were identified and inoculated in a day.
However, according to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Union health ministry on Monday, even in these cases, the second dose will only be administered after 28 days from the date of the first dose.
Justice Rekha Palli issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand on whether it can provide the second dose of Covaxin to those who got the first jab, before expiry of the incubation period of six weeks between the two doses.
NTAGI Official Terms It A Scientifically Evaluated Decision
Even if gap between two doses increases to 8-10 weeks, in case of any of the two vaccines, beneficiaries can take the second shot and it will still be effective. There is no need to repeat the vaccine schedule due to a delayed second dose
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