1st dose Covishield, 2nd dose COVAXIN: Vaccination blunder in UP
In a grave oversight, a group of villagers in Uttar Pradesh received two shots of two different vaccines: COVAXIN and Covishield (both two-dose vaccines). Around 20 villagers in the Siddharthnagar district received Covishield as the first dose and COVAXIN as the second dose. Authorities say there have been no adverse effects, however, one of the villagers said no one came to check on him.
Incident took place at government facility
The incident took place at a Primary Health Center in Siddharthnagar around 270 km from UP capital Lucknow. In the first week of April, the group of villagers received a Covishield dose, and a second dose of COVAXIN was administered on May 14. Officials said none of the recipients experienced any adverse health effects, adding that those responsible will be punished.
'Definitely an oversight,' says CMO
According to NDTV, Siddharthnagar Chief Medical Officer Sandeep Chaudhary said, "This is definitely an oversight. There are no instructions from the government to administer a cocktail of vaccines. So it is an oversight." "We had ordered an inquiry and have gotten the report. I have asked for an explanation from those who are guilty. We will take whatever action is possible," Chaudhary added.
'Our teams met all those mistakenly administered mixed doses'
Chaudhary said, "Our teams have spoken to everyone and have met all those who were mistakenly administered the second dose. They are all healthy and not facing any problems." The safety and efficacy of mixing vaccine doses remain a subject of global research.
No one from health department checked on me: Recipient
Ram Surat—an elderly man who received the mixed doses—reportedly said no one from the health department approached him. Surat said he was scared of the impact of the mixed doses. "When I went for my second dose, no one bothered to check anything. In place of Covishield, I got COVAXIN," he said, "I am worried... No one has come to follow up."
Only 1.4% of UP vaccinated
Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, is the slowest in terms of the percentage of the population vaccinated. Only 1.4% (33 lakh people) of the state's 23 crore-plus population has been vaccinated, while in Gujarat and Kerala, around 6% of the population has been vaccinated. Notably, across India, over 3% (4.2 crore) of India's population has received both doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
