New Delhi: With the Delhi government declaring that they have just two-three days of vaccines left for those aged 45 and above and frontline workers and the Centre now having extended the gap between both doses, older residents in the Capital are having an increasingly hard time booking their second shots.
Already having run out of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for people between the ages of 18 to 44, the Delhi government has now turned to Serum Institute asking it to "come to the rescue" with Covishield doses.
And Bharat Biotech refusing to supply more doses for May, Director of Family Welfare in the Delhi government Dr Monika Rana wrote to SII, that Delhi's Covishield stock for 18-44 year olds would finish in one week and centres will have to be shut.
To this, the SII said they are doing their best to meet countrywide vaccine requirements, official sources said.
The woes of residents in the city meanwhile continue as both the young and the old struggle on their smart devices for hours on end to book an appointment.
Dwarka resident 53-year-old Neelam Gupta said that she had somehow managed to get a slot for her second dose but her centre is in Wazirabad — across the city. "It is due to this desperation of getting my second dose that I thought it does not matter," she said.
A resident of Naraina Vihar, Vani Saini, 24 said she has given up, "I have joined groups on Telegram that post alerts when a slot is available but the moment I get any information about my area, the slot gets filled. In fact, yesterday I opened it at a time where there were 150 slots but by the time I chose my time and entered the captcha it got filled."
According to the Delhi government, for the 18-44 age group, the capital has eight days of Covishield doses available and no Covaxin doses. "Delhi currently has three days of Covaxin and two days of Covishield stock for those above 45, and healthcare and frontline workers," AAP leader Atishi said. with inputs form Nikita jain