66.41% health workers get Covid vaccine shots in UP
LUCKNOW : The third round of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign went off smoothly at 1,537 vaccination centres in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday with 1,71,198 health workers (66.41%) out of the targeted 2,57,781 getting the jabs till 5pm, according to official data.
The health department organised 2,305 vaccination sessions in all 75 districts of the state to inoculate health workers. UP had received consignments of 10,55,500 Covishield and 20,000 Covaxin doses.
Five districts reported the highest turnout of beneficiaries – Balrampur (99.07%), Siddharth Nagar (98.32%), Sant Kabir Nagar (97.52%), Barabanki (92.45%) and Fatehpur (88.40%) whereas the five districts that saw the lowest turnout included – Sonebhadra (44.75%), Firozabad (45.31%), Gorakhpur (45.58%), Chandauli (46.66%) and Rae Bareli (46.78%).
As many as 173 cases of adverse event following immunization (AEFI) were reported in 75 districts of UP where vaccination drive was conducted from 9am to 5pm. All the beneficiaries were kept under observation. They were healthy and safe, said Amit Mohan Prasad, additional chief secretary (health and family welfare). The fourth round of the Covid vaccination will be organised on Friday. The health and family welfare department plans to vaccinate 2.10 lakh health workers in the 2,100 vaccination sessions across the state.
Health workers, who got the first dose on Thursday, will be given the second dose on February 25, he said.
Prasad said messages were sent to the health workers who were listed for the vaccination and their names were uploaded on the Co-WIN portal.
Those health workers who were not suffering from any disease were given either of the two vaccines — Covishield or Covaxin. Enthusiasm was witnessed among health workers across the state as they came in large numbers to get the vaccine, added Prasad. “I inspected the vaccination drive at Avantibai Hospital and King George’s Medical University. It was continuing smoothly at both the centres as well as at other vaccination centres across UP,” he said.
After getting the vaccine, the beneficiaries were kept under
HIGHEST TURNOUT OF BENEFICIARIES (99.07%) REPORTED IN BALRAMPUR, LOWEST (44.75%) IN SONEBHADRA
observation for 30 minutes. The strength of each vaccinators’ team had been increased, he said.
Health workers who missed the dose in the first and second round had been told to get themselves vaccinated, he said. The state government decided to organise Covid vaccination twice a week on Thursdays and Fridays.