2 Delhi health workers felt slight tightness in chest after Covid-19 shot: Official

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said the drive was successfully conducted on the first day.

Two health workers reported mild adverse effects after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine shot at a hospital in Delhi on Saturday, a senior official of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said. The health workers, who received the jab at Charak Palika Hospital in the afternoon, reported slight tightness in the chest during observation.

A medic administers the first dose of Covishield vaccine to a frontline worker, after the virtual launch of Covid-19 vaccination drive on Saturday. (PTI Photo )

“They were immediately attended by the AEFI (adverse effects following immunisation) team and kept under observation. They felt normal within half-an-hour and were discharged. There is nothing to be worried about AEFI cases as such symptoms are normal to occur after any vaccination,” the official said.

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However, the official did not reveal which of the two vaccines - Covishield, the Oxford University-AstraZenexa shot being manufactured by Serum Institute of India, or the indigenously-developed Covaxin - was administered to the two health workers.

Thousands of healthcare workers, from doctors to hospital sanitation workers, were given shots of Covid-19 vaccine at 81 centres in Delhi, after the world's largest vaccination drive was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi across the country this morning. The jab was given to more than 4,300 health workers amid cheers and applause, with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal assuring that the vaccines are safe and urging people not to fall for rumours.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said the drive was successfully conducted on the first day. Against a target of 8,117 health workers, 4,319 were administered vaccines on the first day in 11 districts of Delhi, official figures showed.

Although there is a target of vaccinating 100 persons at every centre daily, the numbers were low on the first day with officials citing various reasons including that the registration process took longer than expected.

As many as 191,181 beneficiaries across India were vaccinated on day one of the massive immunisation drive, said the Union ministry of health and family welfare. During a press briefing earlier in the evening, the ministry had said there was no post adverse event reported after the vaccination was administered to the people.

(With agency inputs)