CHENNAI: Due to the poor patronage for Russian-made COVID vaccine Sputnik V, many private hospitals in Tamil Nadu haven’t been buying it for months now. So far, only 10,000 Sputnik V doses have been given in private hospitals across the State, as per data from the Directorate of Public Health. Meanwhile, 8.2 crore Covishield and 1.5 crore Covaxin doses have been administered in Tamil Nadu.
Supplied by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in India, each dose of Sputnik V is priced at Rs 995 plus a service fee of Rs 150. Two doses, which are different in composition, are administered 21 days apart. It is this uniqueness in composition that made the vaccine unpopular.
Hospitals had to buy the first and second doses separately since each has a different adenovirus, and this made stock management difficult, say hospital officials. The government’s aggressive vaccination drive too made people less dependent on private hospitals.
Fortis Hospital, Vadapalani, which rolled out the vaccine in July, stopped administering it two months ago. "Now, only Covaxin is in demand since it has been approved as a booster dose, and also for the 15-18 age group. Covishield was popular initially because of passport issues and other things, but the demand has dropped now," says Dr Sanjay Pandey, zonal director, Fortis Hospitals, Chennai.
Also, Sputnik V had to be bought in large quantities, but the demand was low. "We could have only bought 7,000-8,000 doses. In all, we have 500 doses of all vaccines, which will last till the end of March," Pandey adds, explaining that the hospital has always only procured small quantities of vaccines.
Initially, the demand for Covaxin was low as it hadn’t yet been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). At this time, hospitals gathered stock of Covishield and Sputnik V, say doctors.
Sputnik V was also popular since it had an efficacy of more than 90 per cent. But there was a problem as the interval between the two doses was short, and many hospitals couldn't procure the second dose on time, says Dr JA Jayalal, immediate past president, Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Vaccination drives at most private hospitals were suspended due to the low turnout, as the State government started administering Covaxin and Covishield free of cost.