Covaxin, Covishield and Conundrums; From mix and match to fake certificate, Sayantan and Sagarika’s vaccination experience

Silchar Tarapur resident Sayantan Bhattacharjee and his sister Sagarika Bhattacharjee got themselves inoculated with the first dose of Covaxin on May 11. According to them, they booked their vaccination slots with the help of the Cowin app. They were informed that the second dose of the vaccine should be taken within the next 42 days. They kept on searching online and on Sunday afternoon suddenly found that 100 slots of Covaxin were available at the Narayanpur Primary School Center in Hailakandi. They were able to book their names and were told to visit on Monday. They also took the first dose in Hailakandi.

After visiting the designated vaccination site on Monday and taking the dose after standing in a queue, they came to realise that they were inoculated with the Covishield vaccine this time and not Covaxin.

Sayantan Bhattacharjee said that after arriving at the designated centre, the first thing they noticed was chaos all around. However, since it has been almost 42 days since their first dose, they decided to take the vaccine by standing in a queue. They got themselves vaccinated on time but then suddenly panicked after realising something. Out of curiosity, he asked the on-duty health worker what dose was given. And the answer came that it was Covishield. Despite some protests, they did not dare to talk much as the situation in the centre was not conducive. But after a while, he asked the health worker again and the answer came again that they had been given Covishield doses. The health workers were also trying to persuade them not to bring these issues to the public. Meanwhile, they recorded this entire conversation on a mobile phone.

Sayantan Bhattacharjee said, “We went to get the vaccine knowing that Covaxin was being given. Even the message that was sent had Covaxin written in it. But the health worker gave us Covishield instead. Why did they do that? In response to this question, the health worker said that they have only been provided with Covishield by the health department. In other words, even though slots of Covaxin is given through the app, many people are getting Covishield as the second dose. We don’t know yet what the side effects of this might be, but there is panic.”

Not only that, the siblings were handed over a certificate of vaccination which states that they have been inoculated with two doses of Covaxin. This certificate comes with the image of the Prime Minister of India and is authorised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The man that Sayantan and his family members spoke to, asked them, “Do you want a Covishield certificate, we can give that to you too.” The question therefore is that how often are certificates manipulated in this manner and what consequences could it lead to?

There are limited knowledge about the consequences of mix and match in the vaccination. There are many vaccines in the market, primarily Covaxin and Covishield in Assam. The government has made it clear that it is not advisable to mix and match the two depending on the demand. Should Sayantan and Sagarika, both young residents and with possibilities of travelling abroad for various reasons, take another dose of Covishield after 84 days or are they fully vaccinated? The question remains unanswered but the administration is obliged to take it up.