India's 2nd Covid-19 vaccine drive starts today: Here is all you need to know

The second phase of India’s vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) started on Saturday for healthcare workers, who were given their first jabs on January 16 as the government launched its inoculation programme. The director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Randeep Guleria and NITI Aayog's VK Paul will be among the first ones to get the second dose, which needs to be taken 28 days after the first.

“I want to tell the public that vaccine is now the first line of defence alongside other Covid-19 norms,” Dr NN Mathur, the director of Lady Hardinge Medical College, said after receiving the second dose.

India is using Covishield, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and manufactured by Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin shot developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research in its inoculation drive. India has administered the vaccines to 79,67,647 people till Saturday.

The government says more vaccinations will be provided from next month to meet the home target. More private hospitals will give out Covid-19 vaccines once identified groups from the general public are jabbed. The government can handle 10 million inoculations a day, Reuters reported.

Here is all about the second phase of India’s vaccination drive:

1. Doctors say the second round of vaccination is to be given to people after a gap of 28 days.

2. Experts have clarified that those who miss the jab can still take the second dose anytime between four to six weeks from the first one.

3. The first dose, according to the experts, is designed to train the body to recognise while the second dose, or the booster shot, will further boost the immune system.

4. A senior doctor at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital told news agency PTI they will receive the second dose delivery on Sunday.

5. Once opened, multi-dose vials should be used as soon as practically possible and within 6 hours when kept between 2-25 Celsius. The expiry date of vaccine is indicated on the label and packaging, Serum Institute Of India Pvt Ltd stated.

6. Covishield is being administered majorly while Covaxin is served at remaining facilities.

7. More than 7.7 million people had their first vaccine dose till Friday, the central government said, adding that 97% of them are “satisfied.”

8. India has a target of vaccinating 300 million people against Covid-19 by July 2021.

9. The country inoculated more than 7 million people in 26 days, while the United States and the United Kingdom took 27 and 48 days each respectively, the Union health ministry has said.

10. Ten top administered states till Friday are: Uttar Pradesh (858,602), Maharashtra (649,660), Madhya Pradesh (526,095), Gujarat (667,073), West Bengal (485,054), Karnataka (491,552), Odisha (399,670), Chhattisgarh (247,745), Jharkhand (188,095) and Jammu and Kashmir (111,470).

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