1,300 to get Covid-19 vaccination on the first day

Kerala has received 43,50,00 vials of the vaccine for the first phase of the vaccination.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Jose Chacko Periappuram, a Padma awardee, received the first Covid-19 vaccine shot as the vaccination drive was rolled out in Kerala on Saturday.

A health worker administers a Covid-19 vaccine to a health worker at the Dr. R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. India launched one of the world�s largest coronavirus vaccination drives on Saturday, setting in motion a complex deployment plan aimed at stemming the wide spread of infections across a nation of more than 1.3 billion people. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg (Bloomberg)

“I am really proud of our scientists and health workers. It is just like any other injection. There is no need for any apprehension. Really happy that health workers were given first chance,” said Periappuram, who performed the first heart transplant in the state.

In Thrissur, where the country’s first Covid-19 case was detected in January 2020, district medical officer K K Reena received the first vaccination dose.

At least 133 vaccine centres have been set up in the state and 100 people each will be vaccinated there. On the first day, 1,300 people were expected to receive the vaccination.

Kerala has received 43,50,00 vials of the vaccine for the first phase of the vaccination.

State health minister K K Shailaja allayed apprehensions about the vaccine. “It is like any other vaccine… Beneficiaries should report side-effects if any. There is no need for any apprehension in this regard,” she said.