In a shocking development, a 51-year-old man in Odisha was administered two doses of COVID-19 vaccines on the same day. The first-of-its-kind incident had drawn massive attention and got added to the list of the several flawed processes of the vaccination drive amid battling the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to reports, the serious medical mishap of inoculating two doses of the vaccine to the same person on the same day had happened in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district on Monday. 51-year-old Prasanna Kumar Sahu in the district was administered both doses of the vaccine within a time span of 30 minutes. 

Sahu had on Saturday registered to receive the vaccine and following the appointment, he had visited a temporary vaccination camp at the Satyasai Government High School at Khuntapur for the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. After receiving the first dose of the vaccine, Sahu was kept under observation at the camp as per the vaccination protocols. 

While he was under observation, a nurse at the camp had administered another dose of the vaccine, without being aware that Sahu had just received his first shot and was under observation. Shocked by the development, he was then put under observation for two more hours and he was given an ORS drink. 

Sahu said that he told to the nurse that he had received the first shot of the vaccine, but by the time, the nurse had already administered the second dose of the vaccine. Rajendra Behera, the observer of the vaccination centre has said that Sahu was asked to undergo observation for two more hours. 

Behera has said that Sahu had gone to the vaccination place instead of going to the observation room after receiving the first dose. It was by mistake that he was administered the second dose. The authorities had asserted that Sahu's condition is stable. Speaking to PTI, Dr Sipun Panda of Betanati Community Health Center said that he was aware of the incident and an inquiry committee will take up the matter before initiating any action against the person responsible. 

The vaccination guidelines dictate a time gap between the two doses of vaccines. India has three vaccines in operation - Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V. Currently, two doses of Covishield are being administered at the interval of 12-16 weeks based on the recommendations by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19. The two doses of Covaxin are being administered in four to six weeks while the two doses of Sputnik V are administered at the interval of 21-90 days.