E-Paper
Vaccination day 29: Healthcare workers to get 2nd shot beginning from today
Covaxin's interim efficacy estimate will be generated by the end of February 2021, Bharat Biotech has said.
India's vaccination drive which began on January 16 enters 29th day on Saturday, thus beginning the phase where second shots of the vaccine will begin to be administered. With both the shots, the vaccination process will be completed and after 14 days antibodies against Covid-19 will be developed.
Till Friday, India inoculated 58,65,813 healthcare workers and 19,00,506 frontline workers.
Here's all you need to know about India's vaccination drive so far
> India's vaccination drive is not only the largest but has also become the fastest one in the world. The World Health Organization praised India's inoculation drive.
> The ministry has asked the states and UTs to finish the first round of vaccination of health care workers by February 20. Mop-up rounds can be held by February 25.
India begins roll-out of second shot today
> There has been a total of 24 deaths which took place after vaccination but none of the deaths is attributed to vaccination.
> With the vaccination of health care and frontline workers going on, India will soon start vaccinating people above the age of 50 years and people below the age but with co-morbidity issues that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19.
> A fake website offering vaccines in ₹4,000-6,000 has been blocked by the ministry.
> Bihar, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Sikkim have vaccinated more than 70 per cent of their registered healthcare workers.
> Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha have recorded the highest number of vaccinations.
> The Covaxin versus Covishield debate is still raging as Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo expressed apprehension over Bharat Biotech's Covaxin as its phase 3 trial data are still not available. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan in reply said in such "unprecedented times", a minister should not further vested interests.
> It may be noted that Bharat Biotech's Covaxin shots have been sent to Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bahrain, Oman, Maldives and Mauritius.
> Covaxin's interim efficacy estimate will be generated by the end of February 2021.
