Only 500 shots of SII’s Covovax administered in Delhi in two months
Around 80 per cent of the children in the age group of 12 to 14 years and more between the ages of 15 and 17 years have received the first dose of their vaccine.
Each dose of Covovax, the protein subunit vaccine, will cost Rs 386 (including charges of the hospital and GST). (Representative image)
Just over 500 shots of Serum Institute of India (SII)’s Covovax have been administered in Delhi in the two months since it was approved for children between 12 and 17 years at private centres under the country’s drive against Covid-19. There were only 514 shots of the vaccine administered till Monday morning, according to the government’s CoWIN portal.
The low numbers persist, despite the number of centres offering the vaccine going up from two to 19 over the last six weeks, when hospitals first started administering the vaccine in the city. Both the hospitals that initially started using Covovax were in the East district, with the others having no centres for it. Now, barring a couple of districts, most have centres for Covovax. However, there hasn’t still been an increase in the numbers.
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Each dose of Covovax, the protein subunit vaccine, will cost Rs 386 (including charges of the hospital and GST).
One of the first two hospitals to start administering Covovax had told The Indian Express previously that its uptake was very low. “This could be because of two reasons. One, Covaxin and Corbevax shots are available free under the government’s programme and these are administered at schools, so many prefer it. Two, those who have already taken their first shot cannot change their vaccine now,” said Saurabh Virmani, director of Virmani Hospital, after two weeks of the vaccine being introduced at their centre.
Around 80 per cent of the children in the age group of 12 to 14 years and more between the ages of 15 and 17 years have received the first dose of their vaccine. The number of vaccines, any of the three approved for the age group, being administered has already gone down in Delhi, with the peaks seen in March and April.
As Delhi closes in on saturation in these age groups, immunisation has remained low in children even through the ongoing Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 campaign to increase vaccination cover, especially the first and second doses in the children and the third precautionary dose in those above the age of 60 years.
Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme.
Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports.
Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan.
She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times.
When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More
