‘Have chosen vaccine over virus, so should you’
SHIMLA: IGMC medical superintendent Dr Janak Raj,41, and a sanitation worker, Hardeep Singh, 34, were the first two persons to get the Covishield vaccine for protection against Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday morning.
They are among the 1,536 health workers in the state to be inoculated across 27 locations on the first day of the vaccination drive. The target for the Day 1 was to inoculate 2,499 workers but it couldn’t be achieved due to various reasons.
Dr Raj said people shouldn’t be afraid to get vaccinated. “It is necessary for protection against Covid-19,” he added. “In the first phase, health workers will get the vaccine, followed by senior citizens in the second phase and then the rest of the population,” the doctor said.
“It was a choice between the virus or the vaccine. I have chosen the vaccine and so should you,” said Hardeep, looking upbeat after taking the first shot. “People should get vaccinated as this is the only protection against coronavirus,” he said, urging others to shun rumours.
Himachal chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said about 74,500 health workers would be vaccinated and each beneficiary would be provided two doses. The second dose would be administered after an interval of 28 days.
CM Thakur said the government has constituted a statelevel steering committee, state task force, district task force and block task force to monitor the administration.