Two days after India rolled out its ambitious Covid-19 vaccination drive, 2,24,301 beneficiaries have been vaccinated so far. The inoculation drive, deemed by the government as the world’s largest, enters day three with the expectation of vaccinating more frontline and healthcare workers.
Of the total beneficiaries, 2,07,229 received the vaccine on day one of the vaccination drive. Only 447 adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) were reported so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Even as the low number of AEFI was appreciated, hesitancy on the part of beneficiaries and technical snags in the digital platform Co-WIN hindered the drive.
The Centre had targeted over three lakh vaccinations on the first day but achieved only 2,07,229, a deficiency of 39 per cent. States that conducted the drive on the first day were Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and West Bengal.
On Sunday, more than 17,000 people received the vaccine at 553 sites in six states, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur and Tamil Nadu.
Going by the government’s plan of doing 100 vaccinations at each session site, nearly 55,300 persons should have been vaccinated on Sunday. Instead, only 17,072 individuals got the shots.
Also read — 2,24,301 beneficiaries given Covid-19 vaccine so far; 447 cases of adverse effects reported in India
"A total of 447 AEFI have been reported on January 16 and 17, out of which only three required hospitalisation. Most of the AEFI reported so far are minor like fever, headache, nausea," Additional Secretary Manohar Agnani said.
India reported 13,788 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, with 145 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
India has approved two vaccines — Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and Covishield from the Oxford/AstraZeneca stable being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India — for emergency use. Beneficiaries are not allowed to choose which vaccine they receive.