'Delaying Shots For Covid Patients Aimed To Tackle Vaccine Shortage', Says Govt Panel Head

The government on Wednesday indicated that patients can get their vaccination three months post recovery, compared with the earlier recommendation of about one month, but it did not offer any specific reason.

New Delhi: Even as the government has been facing the wrath of mishandling the second wave of coronavirus infection, the head of a government panel has indicated that delay in shots for those who have recovered from the disease is aimed at saving scarce Covid-19 vaccines.

A senior government official has been quoted by Reuters, who added the vaccination campaign should not have been opened to all adults before covering the most vulnerable.

After India became the global hotspot of the viral disease, Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been criticised for spreading of the virus. Those between 18-45 years were made eligible for vaccination from May 1.

Vaccination crunch in several regions including the capital city, Delhi has forced the state to once again focus on beneficiaries aged above 45.

The government on Wednesday indicated that patients can get their vaccination three months post recovery, compared with the earlier recommendation of about one month. However, it did not offer any specific reason.

"It's been done to save vaccine doses," Narendra Kumar Arora, head of the government's National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has been quoted by the news agency. "We discussed delaying it by three months, six months or nine months, but finally we said 'we can manage it with three months, let's do three months for now'".

Infact, Arora while highlighting the plicght of vaccine shortage said the focus should have been on immunising the most at risk. "Our group prioritised those aged 45 or more," he said. "Because 75% of the mortality and morbidity is in that age group."

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on April 19 that the decision to include all adults in the immunisation campaign was taken in a meeting chaired by Modi. So far, around 192 million doses has been administered in India, the most after China and the United States, but given the necessary two-doses to only about 3 per cent of its 1.35 billion people.