TRICHY: The waiting time for the second dose of Covaxin, after the due date, for people in the district has been getting longer by weeks.
Although the district only receives a limited stock, there are many people who prefer Covaxin for their first dose which is putting those who wait for their second jab in the lurch.
Since only limited centres have Covaxin, there is crowding at these centres.
Till now, only 30% of the total vaccines allotted for the district by the directorate of health services was Covaxin.
5,400 to 6,200 Covaxin doses were available the district in the two recent allotments in the last week.
There is a perception among locals, particularly among senior citizens, that Covaxin has lesser side effects.
Apart from it, the waiting period between two dosages is only a month and those who have no plans to go abroad were preferring it.
As there are people who are waiting for their second dose, the vaccination camps offer no separate queues for them.
A large number of beneficiaries in the exclusive Covaxin camps were taking the first dose.
A section of people waiting for their second jab on seeing the serpentine queues return home and prefer to try later.
“It has been two weeks since I have been trying to get my second dose of Covaxin.
I had tried the camps organised in the city but the tokens were exhausted quickly,” said G Gnanavelan, an IT worker from Samayapuram.
As a large number of beneficiaries getting the first jab were senior citizens, health officials said that they were unable to reserve the doses for second jab takers.
As only 40-50% of vaccines received is allotted for the city, residents opined that tokens were exhausted within a few hours as people were desperate to get vaccinated after the second wave.
“We cannot wait for the second dose takers to come and also cannot deny vaccines for those coming for the first dose.
As there is a request, we will definitely consider a separate queue and health staff to vaccinate people waiting for their second dose of Covaxin in the camps,” a senior health official told TOI.