The Centre has said that more than 3.86 crore residents have not been administered the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine within the stipulated time, reported PTI on Thursday. The statement was in response to a Right to Information query filed by activist Raman Sharma.

“The total number of vaccinees [beneficiaries] who got their first dose of Covishield vaccine but did not get their second dose within stipulated period of time as prescribed by the Govt. of India as per the due report in the Co-WIN portal is 3,40,72,993 (data as on 17th August 2021),” the Covid-19 Vaccine Administration Cell of the Union Health Ministry said.

Regarding the Covaxin vaccine, the vaccine administration cell said that 46,78,406 beneficiaries did not get the shot within the stipulated time as of Tuesday.

The vaccine administration cell said the government has recommended that Covishield’s second dose should be taken within 84 days to 112 days after the first shot. The gap between two Covaxin doses should be 28 days to 42 days, it said.

“There is no recommendation for such vaccinees [beneficiaries] who got their first dose of Covid-19 Vaccine but did not get the second dose within the stipulated period as prescribed by Government of India to get their first dose again,” the vaccine administration cell added.

So far, India has administered 57,07,26,028 Covid-19 vaccine doses since the immunisation drive began on January 16, according to government data. Of this, 12,64,65,467 residents have received both doses.

In May, the central government had claimed that it will vaccinate all adults by December. However, various politicians, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and even the Delhi High Court have been sceptical of the statement.

The vaccination drive has also suffered some hiccups due to shortages of vaccines. However, the Centre has repeatedly denied that there have been vaccine shortages. Last month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had assured citizens that everyone will be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, India on Thursday recorded 36,401 new coronavirus cases, taking the infection tally to 3,23,22,258 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The number of cases was 3.47% higher than Wednesday’s count of 35,178 infections.

The country’s toll rose to 4,33,049 with 530 more deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, while the number of active cases declined by 3,286 to 3,64,129.

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