NEW DELHI: Two days before the vaccination drive begins, some faculty members from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital expressed unhappiness over being provided only Covaxin, the vaccine produced by Bharat Biotech, and not Covishield produced by the Serum Institute of India.
The state governments are in charge of vaccine distribution to all the designated vaccination centres.
No Delhi government official responded to this reporter’s calls and messages to confirm if the two central institutes had been provided only Covaxin.
“There is no enough proof of efficacy of the Covaxin yet, whereas Covishield has yielded some results. We are not confident of taking Covaxin. The hospital administration cannot help as the vaccine distribution is decided by the Delhi government. Many of us would like to opt out from taking the vaccine if it’s only Covaxin. However, there is a pressure on us. Being healthcare workers, we have to show trust on the vaccines,” said an AIIMS faculty, requesting anonymity.
“We have to fill a consent form. HCWs have a choice to opt out from the vaccination. But if we don’t turn up this time, we have been told that there won’t be any second chance for it,” said a faculty from Safdarjung.
Attempts were made to get a clarification on the claims from Delhi government authorities.
However, calls and messages to the Directorate, Health and Family Welfare, South Delhi DM and the Delhi government for their reaction remained unanswered till the time the story was filed.
A Delhi government official on Thursday said Covishield will be administered at 75 centres in the capital while Covaxin will be sent to six facilities.
The officials did not specify which of the 81 designated hospitals will get the vaccine made by Bharat Biotech.
Meanwhile, authorities on Thursday released the list of 81 sites that will be part of the immunisation exercise here, with a senior official saying Covishield will be administered at 75 centres, while Covaxin will be given at the remaining facilities.
The sites, with nearly an even split of government and private hospitals, include six central government facilities -- AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, Kalawati Saran Children Hospital and two ESI hospitals.
The rest 75 centres, spanning all 11 districts of Delhi, include Delhi government-run facilities, such as LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, DDU Hospital, BSA Hospital, Delhi State Cancer Institute, ILBS Hospital, and private facilities include Max Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Apollo Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
A senior official in the Delhi Health Department, when asked, however, did not clarify which of these hospitals will be the six centres where the vaccine made by Bharat Biotech will be used.
"Delhi has now a total of 81 session sites, 75 for administering Covishield vaccine and six for Covaxin, on the vaccination rollout day," a senior official said.
Addressing an online media briefing, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the city government has received in total 2.74 lakh doses of the vaccine so far from the Centre, which would be sufficient to cater to 1.2 lakh healthcare workers.
The first batch of Oxford Covishield vaccine containing 2.64 lakh doses had reached the Delhi's central storage facility at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital on Tuesday amid high security, officials earlier said.
Amid a three-layer security cover, 20,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech, had arrived at the RGSSH on Wednesday, officials said.
Kejriwal also said the Centre has given 10 per cent extra in stock, in case of any mishappening, like damage to vials.
The Delhi government is all set for the first phase of the immunisation exercise with healthcare workers being put in the front line to get the dose.
India's drugs regulator has approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country.
Ahead of the media interaction, Kejriwal took a review meeting on the vaccination rollout plan of the Delhi government.
He said he has taken stock of the situation and all the teams are ready for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, and people of Delhi are also ready for this exercise.
(With PTI Inputs)