Clearing apprehensions, the government on Thursday said both doses administered to a person should be of the same vaccine. The clarification came in response to a question about 20 villagers in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar district receiving Covaxin as their second dose while they were given Covishield at first.
The incident was reported from a primary health centre in Barhni where people from Audahi Kala and another village received Covaxin shots on May 14.
"Our protocol is clear that both doses given should be of the same vaccine. This matter should be investigated. Even if this has happened it should not be a cause of concern," Niti Aayog member Dr. VK Paul said at a presser of the Health Ministry on Thursday.
"As per the protocol, stick to the same dose of vaccine as the first one. If in case people are getting different doses there is no cause for concern, it's safe. We are thinking to mix and match (vaccine doses) on a trial basis," he further said.
The incident came to light when one of the villagers, Ram Surat, brought to the notice of the health workers that he received different vaccines in the first and the second dose. According to the CMO, about 20 people were administered a mix-up of vaccines and the medical teams are keeping a close watch on them. Health officials said the people who got different vaccines are under stress but no problem has been reported with any one of them so far.
READ MORE: Govt, Pfizer working together for earliest possible import of vaccine: VK Paul
During his press conference, Dr. VK Paul said it was reassuring that the country is on the "downswing" of the second wave, and "it will be sustained if restrictions open up systematically as the time comes."
At least 24 states have reported a decline in active cases since last week, the Health Ministry said. It also noted that the highest single day tests done in India conducted on May 26 stood at 22,17,320.
Overall recoveries are now exceeding the number of cases being reported on a daily basis, joint secretary of the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal informed. He said the recovery rate increasing from 85.6% to 90% was a positive indication.
READ MORE: Vaccine mix-up: 20 UP villagers get wrong 2nd dose of vaccine
Latest India News
