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Over 100,000 get Covid jab in Delhi
New Delhi: Over 100,000 beneficiaries have received their first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine as on Saturday, three weeks since the start of the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off, according to state government data
New Delhi: Over 100,000 beneficiaries have received their first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine as on Saturday, three weeks since the start of the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off, according to state government data.
Senior health officials said health care workers who got the first jab on January 16, the day the drive was launched, will start getting their second and final dose of the same vaccine from February 13.
The programme was also formally opened up for a second batch of recipients on Saturday, with frontline workers now in the fray to receive a jab of either Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin or Serum Institute of India’s Covishield — the two Covid-19 vaccines currently approved for use in the country.
Frontline workers, a category which comprises police personnel, municipal staff, revenue officials, teachers and so on, can get vaccinated at all centres across Delhi. On Thursday, only a few centres were opened to frontline workers, as part of a trial.
Several district magistrates (DMs) and other bureaucrats took the jabs on Saturday, to instil confidence among the public about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.
However, the daily turnout stayed low on Saturday, as marginally more than 50% of the scheduled beneficiaries turned up for their shots. Of the 17,900 slated to receive the vaccine on Saturday, only 9,510 arrived at Delhi’s 179 vaccination centres on the day.
While the turnout number included both health care and frontline workers, the state government did not share the numbers for each category separately.
Senior IAS officers, including district magistrates of southwest Delhi, Naveen Aggarwal, and west Delhi, Neha Bansal, took the first dose of the vaccine on Saturday. G Sudhakar deputy commissioner of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) also took a jab on the same day.
“Vaccination is the only way we can reach herd immunity. Right now, the fear of catching Covid-19 is lower than it was, but no one knows what lies ahead. So, I urge all front-line workers to come forward and take the vaccine at the earliest,” said Aggarwal after taking the jab.
West district vaccinated 1,242 people on Saturday - the highest of all 11 districts in Delhi. The district has 19 session sites for the day. A total of five districts inoculated more than 1,000 beneficiaries on Saturday these also included south, east, central and northwest districts. The fewest vaccinations — 373 doses — were administered in north district.
Of the vaccine recipients on Saturday, nine had adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI).
“Delhi today (Saturday) has crossed the 100,000 mark in Covid-19 vaccination. We have also formally launched the vaccination of frontline workers now. DMs of many districts and police personnel also came forward for vaccination on Saturday to remove vaccine hesitancy among the people,” said a Delhi government spokesperson.
The numbers also include vaccinations that have started in hospitals run by the three municipal corporations. The north Delhi municipal corporation vaccinated 132 beneficiaries on Saturday and till date it has administered 709 jabs in total
.
