Citizens awaiting second dose jittery amid vax shortage in Punjab

Vaccine shortage in Punjab has left many citizens awaiting their second dose jittery, with scores of them complaining about having missed the stipulated deadline already.

While the second dose of Covishield is to be taken within four to eight weeks of the first jab, the interval for Covaxin is four to six weeks.

However, due to the non-availability of doses, especially of Covaxin, many beneficiaries are unable to book an online slot or are being sent back from government vaccination centres without getting the second jab, according to ground reports from many parts of the state.

“More than 200 eligible teachers and staff members of our school were administered Covaxin in March and April, but many are still awaiting their second dose,” says Sukhpreet Kaur, who teaches at a private school in Amritsar.

Kaur says she is trying to book a slot for the second dose, which is due for the past two weeks, but no slot for Covaxin is available for the next seven days at any of the hospitals in Amritsar. “I also visited the civil hospital, but to no avail,” she says.

In Ludhiana, Kiran Malik, 67, who got her first Covishield dose on April 14, has been unsuccessfully trying to book a slot for the second shot on May 26. “At a time when it is so risky to step out of our houses, how can the authorities expect us to visit the centres and try our luck with on-the-spot registrations,” says her husband, BL Malik.

A 73-year-old woman from Amritsar, who is not willing to be named, claims she visited the local civil hospital twice, but failed to get the second Covishield dose that is due for the past three weeks.

“I took my first dose in the second week of March. I have visited the civil hospital for my second dose twice, but due to limited stock of vaccines, I didn’t get the jab,” she says, while adding that instead of extending the drive to others, the first preference should be given to beneficiaries eligible for the second dose.

Only 1.64 lakh got second dose in past week

In the past one week, only 1.64 lakh people have been administered the second dose in Punjab, as compared to 2.44 lakh who got their first shot.

In all, around 6 lakh people have completed their vaccination cycle, which is just 18% of the people inoculated with at least one dose. Among these 6 lakh people who have received both the doses, 2.25 lakh are health care and frontline warriors while 3.75 lakh are other citizens in the 45+ age group.

Dr Puneet Juneja, district nodal officer, vaccines, Ludhiana, said that due to limited stock, the department is not scheduling online appointments. “We release a list of centres where residents can get vaccinated daily,” he said.

Though claiming that many people, especially frontline workers, are willingly skipping the second shot, Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, state nodal officer for Covid-19, admitted that the second dose of vaccine, especially Covaxin, is being delayed due to limited stock.

”The vaccination drive in Punjab picked up the pace in April, after it was opened for all people above 45 years of age. So far, the state health department has administered 2.34 lakh doses of Covaxin, but we have received only 75,000 doses for the second shot, which are insufficient,” he said, while adding that around 15 lakh beneficiaries will get eligible for their second dose, of both the vaccines, in Punjab by May 31.

(With inputs from Ludhiana)