Over 6.5K vaccinated on inaugural day of four-day ‘Tika Utsav’ in Noida

NOIDA: Aimed to vaccinate as many eligible people against the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease amid a surge in cases, over 6,500 persons were inoculated on the inaugural day of the four-day nationwide special vaccination festival (Vishesh Tika Utsav) in Gautam Budh Nagar on Sunday

NOIDA: Aimed to vaccinate as many eligible people against the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease amid a surge in cases, over 6,500 persons were inoculated on the inaugural day of the four-day nationwide special vaccination festival (Vishesh Tika Utsav) in Gautam Budh Nagar on Sunday.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8 had said that states should observe a ‘vaccine festival’ or ‘tika utsav’ between April 11 and 14 to inoculate the maximum number of eligible beneficiaries against Covid-19.

District magistrate Suhas LY said that vaccinations were carried out in over 70 centres in the district on the launch day. “On Sunday, as many as 6,553 persons were inoculated across 71 vaccination centres located in different government and private hospitals in the district. From Monday onwards, though we will not only increase the number of vaccination centres, we will also hold camps in government offices as a part of the ongoing drive,” he said.

The DM further said that over 120 sites have been developed to inoculate eligible persons. “Our main focus is to cover as many people as possible during this drive. All persons aged 45 years or above are eligible to get shots now. Beneficiaries only need to bring an ID card for walk-in inoculation. Those who have pre-registered themselves can also come, besides, the ones whose second shots are due. Left out healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) can avail this offer. But, there will be no compromise with Covid-19 protocols during the entire drive,” he said.

District chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Deepak Ohri said that on the remaining three days of the special drive, the health department has aimed to inoculate at least 20,000 people every day. “We’ll also focus on not wasting doses. If there is zero wastage in the four days of this drive, it will help increase our vaccination capacity,” he said, adding that no doses were wasted on Sunday.

Additional chief medical officer (ACMO), Dr Neeraj Tyagi, who is in-charge of vaccination in the district, said that on the inaugural day of this drive, as many as 1,408 senior citizens took their jabs, which includes 216 who got their second dose. “Besides, 5,084 people aged between 45 and 59 years were vaccinated. The number of left out HCWs and FLWs, who got their shots Sunday, was 61,” he said.

Meanwhile, the district recorded over 200 fresh cases for the third consecutive day on Sunday. With 219 new cases on Sunday, the overall tally of Covid-19 cases in the district has now mounted to 27,486. The death toll remained at 93, as no fresh fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours, while active cases were 1,242.

Ghaziabad, on the other hand, saw 155 fresh cases in the past 24 hours. No new deaths took place, keeping the toll at 103, while active cases were at 824. The district’s tally so far now stands at 28,191.