Mumbaikars looking to get vaccinated have been countering the unavailability of Covaxin, the indigenous vaccine created by Bharat Biotech that reportedly has a higher efficacy rate than Serum Institute of India’s Covishield. This has led to people either opting for Covishield or returning without vaccination.

The government-run JJ Hospital is one of the facilities where the Covaxin stock was exhausted over the weekend. The shortage continued into this week, with no clear sign of when the stock will be replenished. A doctor at the Prevention and Social Medicine (PSM) department, entrusted with vaccine-related tasks at the hospital, said: “We don’t know when new stock will come in. People have been asking for Covaxin and some have chosen to wait for it.”