2nd Covaxin dose at Noida govt centres from June 15

Noida: The Noida health department will begin from June 15 administering the second dose of Covaxin for those aged between 18 and 44 years.
The vaccination drive for the 18-44 group had opened in the district on May 10. For the first seven days, only Covishield was being given. On May 17, the first Covaxin shot was given for this category at Father Agnel School in Sector 62.
However, since neighbouring Delhi had started inoculating the young population from May 3, many residents of Noida and Greater Noida had taken their first dose in the national capital.Now that the due date for the second dose is appearing, many have expressed concern at the lack of Covaxin stocks at government facilities. Though private hospitals are administering Covaxin from their own stock, getting a slot is easier said than done. A recipient has to wait 28-42 days for the second dose of Covaxin.
Ankita Srivastava (32), a resident of Gaur City, is still waiting for her second shot. “My husband and I had driven to Delhi to get the first dose on May 5. We were to take our second dose after four weeks on June 2. But no slots are available now in Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurgaon. We have been trying at private hospitals since. But getting two slots at the same centre for both of us is proving difficult since only a limited number of vials are available for second dosers,” said Ankita.
“The UP government did not make any attempt to reassure the residents of NCR about the second dose of Covaxin. They should have done that,” she added.
Meanwhile, the couple from Gaur City are planning to go to Meerut to take the second shot. Meerut was among the seven UP districts where the vaccination drive had opened for the 18-44 group on May 2. The city has been administering the second shot to Covaxin seekers since May 29.
Told about the anxiety among recipients about the second dose, Dr Neeraj Tyagi, the Noida immunisation officer, said, “Covaxin vials for second doses in the 18-plus category will be distributed among the centres from June 15. Residents who have taken the first dose in Noida and Greater Noida will be eligible for the second one after completing four weeks.”