Bihar woman gets different doses of vaccines 15 mins apart

Patna: In utter negligence of the health official, a 63-year-old woman in Patna received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine shot on the same day within the interval of 15 minutes. The incident happened on Wednesday when Sangita Devi— the vaccine beneficiary— had gone to take the covid jab at the vaccine centre of Beldarichak Medium High School under Punpun Block in Patna district. The woman first took the Covidshield vaccine and within 15 minutes, she was given another shot of Covaxin.

It all happened at the same vaccine centre due to the negligence of the health officials looking after the vaccination drive. As of now, the health condition of the woman is stable and the district administration has kept the woman under the observation of senior doctors. Describing the entire episode, Sangita said, “After submitting the Aadhar Card and mobile number, I was given the first dose at table number 1. The nursing staff on duty asked me to move to another table. After fifteen minutes, I was asked by another nursing staff to stand in queue for the vaccination.

"When I reached the vaccination table, I asked them if they would give a second dose on the same hand. They said yes and then the second time I was vaccinated.” When the family members of Sangita came to know about the incident they reached the vaccination centre and shouted at the medical staff alleging negligence on the part of the government. Soon after it, the doctors at the centre kept the woman under their observation.

Dr Sanjay Kumar, in charge of Punpun Primary Health Centre (PHC), stated that the mistake happened due to misunderstanding and doctors are continuously monitoring the health of the woman.

The nodal officer for Covid at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS-Patna) Dr Sanjeev Kumar said, “We are continuously monitoring the health of the woman so that we can get information about the kind of reaction she receives. At present, there is no reaction and after 14 days, an antibody test would be done. Based on the results of the antibody test, further treatment would be carried out.”

Asked about the negligence, Patna district magistrate Chandra Shekhar Singh told ETV Bharat over the phone that a show-cause notice has been issued to the official responsible for the act. “As soon as the incident came to my notice, we have taken punitive steps so that such things do not repeat in future. A show-cause notice has been issued to the official responsible for this negligence. The senior doctors are continuously monitoring the health of the woman and she has been kept under observation. As per my knowledge, there is no threat to life, “Singh stressed.

Speaking on any repercussions on the health, Patna based senior physician Dr Diwakar Tejaswi said, “There are possibilities of immunogenic reaction and side effects like fever, malaise, body ache in next two to three days. There would be two different immunological responses of two different vaccines so obviously there would be some kind of reaction like pain on the hand which was vaccinated, lethargicness and weakness. So she should be kept under constant care. There is also no life threat to the lady,” he said.