All private hospitals and nursing homes have been told not to administer Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine to those who are coming in for their first jab.

Covaxin in Delhi will be administered only to those in the 18-44 age group who need the second dose, the Delhi government said in a statement on Sunday.

All private hospitals and nursing homes have been told not to administer Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine to those who are coming in for their first jab.

The Delhi government has run out of Covaxin stocks. Private hospitals that have them are far and few and it is not easily available for those who want to get Covaxin jab in the first dose.

Earlier this week, the Delhi High Court told the Arvind Kejriwal government to work out a strategy for administering Covaxin since the national capital was unable to ensure people get both doses of Covaxin within the ideal timeframe.

It is already time for people in the 18-44 age group, who have taken the first dose of Covaxin in May, to take the second dose.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s MLA Atishi said people in this age group have started going to neighbouring cities, some 100 km away, to try to get a jab. “It is becoming a serious issue as a lot of people in the 18-44 group are nearing their date for the second dose. We are also hearing reports that people are travelling 100-200 km to Meerut and Bulandshahr to get their shots because there are no vaccines in Delhi,” Atishi told news agency PTI.

A total of 57,990 vaccine doses were administered on Sunday in Delhi, including 42,742 first doses and 15,248 second doses, government data shows.

So far 56,51,226 doses have been administered in the city, including 12,84,000 people who have been fully vaccinated.

For the 45+ age group, the city has a stock of 5,84,370 vaccines. After receiving new stock on Friday, the national capital has 21,850 Covaxin doses for the 45+ age group while 5,62,520 doses of Covishield are available.