Covid vaccine beneficiaries may not have the option of choosing between Covaxin and Covishield

• Both Covishield and Covaxin are being locally manufactured at SII and Bharat Biotech, respectively. 
• Drug regulators and health secretary have vouched for the efficacy of both the vaccines.
• There will be a 28-day gap between the two doses of vaccines; the effect will show after 14 days.

THD NewsDesk, New Delhi: Even as the country is gearing up for the first phase of the Covid vaccination drive, whether the vaccine beneficiaries would have the option of choosing between Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is being debated. Further, while ordinary people choose to be inoculated or not, healthcare and frontline workers may not have the same option. The Health Ministry has stepped in to define the dosing pattern divided into two phases. There will be a gap of 28 days between the doses of vaccine, and the vaccine’s effect is expected to show after 14 days of the second dose. 

Although many people have raised concern over this, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has said, 

“Many countries across the world are using more than one vaccine. There is no such option available to any of the beneficiaries in these countries”, informing that this is not exclusive to India. 

Moreover, the drug regulator has vouched for both the vaccines’ safety, even though they have been granted emergency use authorization.

Both Covishield and Covaxin are being manufactured in India at the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech. 

Dispelling doubts raised about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines, NITI Aayog member-health Dr. V K Paul said, “We should not doubt that the two vaccines approved are the safest of the vaccines. Both the vaccines have been tested on thousands of people, and side-effects are negligible. There is no risk of any significance”. 

However, officials have asked Indian citizens to follow adequate safety precautions even after being vaccinated to be completely safe from contracting the Covid-19 virus. 

Source - ET HealthWorld