Chhattisgarh receives 3.23 lakh Covishield vaccine doses

A total of 2,67,399 healthcare personnel and other frontline workers will be vaccinated in the first phase, for which 1,349 centres have been identified across the state.

The first consignment of 3.23 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine reached Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur from Pune on Wednesday, a health official said.

Workers unload the boxes of Covishield as first consignment of Covishield vaccine reach at storage facility centre, in Lucknow on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

An IndiGo flight carrying the consignment arrived at the Swami Vivekanand Airport here around 1.40 pm, an airport official said.

Amid high security, boxes containing the vaccine vials were shifted in refrigerated vans to the state vaccine store in Shashtri Chowk area, Chhattisgarh's Mission Director for the National Health Mission, Priyanka Shukla, told PTI.

In the first batch, the state has received 3.23 lakh doses of the Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, she said.

A total of 2,67,399 healthcare personnel and other frontline workers will be vaccinated in the first phase, for which 1,349 centres have been identified across the state.

However, for the roll-out scheduled on January 16, 99 vaccination centres have been selected, said Shukla, the state's nodal officer for the coronavirus vaccination drive.

Later, vaccine stocks from the storage centre here will be ferried to other storage facilities in various districts in insulated vans, she said.

For the storage purposes, one state-level, three regional and 27 district-level cold chain points have been set up, she said.

At present, the state has 630 active cold chain points for the safe storage and transportation of vaccines, while there are 81 additional cold chain points, she said.

As many as 1,311 cold-storage boxes are available for transportation, while 360 dry-storage facilities have been set up for syringes, needles and other material, she added.

Chhattisgarh's Covid-19 caseload stood at 2,90,813 till Tuesday.

Of these, 2,79,236 people have so far recovered, while 3,517 patients have died till now due to the disease, as per official figures.