Those Awaiting Second Dose To Be Immunised First

Telangana's Director of Public Health Dr G Srinivas Rao today said that the government had taken the decision to stop administering the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine till May 15 as it was more urgent to administer the vaccine to the people who were awaiting the second dose of the same.

As a result, people who have already received the first injection will be able to receive the second dose from tomorrow.
The move, reports say, was prompted by the shortage of vaccines in the state.

Speaking to the media along with DME Dr Ramesh Reddy, Rao said that the administering of the first dose to the public would be resumed at a later date as there were about 11 lakh people who were waiting to receive the second injection.

Both Covaxin and Covishield will be available for those awaiting the second dose.

Since there is a time limit within which the second dose must be administered, it has become important to finish the immunisation process of those who have gotten the first injection as soon as possible to avoid revaccinating them.

The senior health official however made sure to assure the public that the entire state would be vaccinated against the deadly disease in a phased manner, by and by, and added, "The state government has allocated Rs 2,500 crore for the inoculation drive. We require about 6 crore doses to vaccinate a population of three crore in two spells. We will carry out the vaccination drive in a phased manner and every person will get vaccinated."

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar appealed to the Centre to supply 40 lakh doses of the Covid-19 vaccines to the state.

"Though Telangana has received about 13 to 16 lakh doses, it is currently waiting to get the remaining vaccines," he said.