In most states, sanitation workers get the first dose of COVID vaccine

A sanitation worker, Manish Kumar, was the first recipient of the COVID-19 vaccine after  vaccination programme was launched at AIIMS in New Delhi in the presence of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday.

Besides, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria also received a shot of the vaccine followed by NITI Aayog member V K Paul.

India’s health regulator has so far approved two vaccines — the indigenous Covaxin from Bharat Biotech and Covishield from the Oxford/AstraZeneca stable — for only restricted emergency use.

Biji Tomy, a 48-year-old nurse and a native of Kerala, was the first person to get the shot at the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. As she stepped out 30 minutes after being administered the vaccine, her colleagues greeted her with loud cheers and applause.

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In Andhra Pradesh, 40-year-old staff nurse Manjula of the government hospital in Prodatturu town in Kadapa district, became the first person to get the vaccine. Government hospital sweeper B Pushpa Kumari and senior staff nurse Naga Jyothy were among the first to get the vaccine at Government General Hospital in Vijayawada where Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the drive.

In Odisha, a 51-year-old frontline worker at Capital Hospital became the person to be given the jab around 11 am. “The first vaccine dose was given to a class-IV frontline worker at Capital Hospital. The director of the hospital and a doctor were the next few to be inoculated,” said Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, PK Mohapatra.

In Karnataka, Nagaratna K (28), a ward attendant at Victoria Hospital, received the vaccine in the presence of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and Health Minister K Sudhakar at Bangalore Medical College. Several doctors and health experts including noted nephrologist and chairman of Manipal Hospitals Sudarshan Ballal also got vaccinated.

In Jammu and Kashmir, AG Ahangar, director of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, the premier tertiary care hospital in Srinagar, received the first shot, State Immunisation Officer Qazi Haroon said. A lot of doctors, including heads of institutions, several heads of departments and chief medical officers of various districts, received the jabs to boost confidence in the vaccination process, according to Haroon.

Related news | Watch: AIIMS chief, sanitation worker among first to get vaccine

In Kerala, prominent government doctors were among the first batch of frontline workers to be administered the vaccine. State Health Minister K K Shailaja said the director of the
Malabar Cancer Centre, Dr Satheeshan Balasubramanyam became the first person in the district to receive the vaccine. Director of Health Service R L Saritha was given the vaccine shot in Thiruvananthapuram.

In Maharashtra’s Mumbai, the dean of JJ Hospital, doctors, and former Maharashtra health minister Deepak Sawant were among the first beneficiaries to receive COVID-19 vaccine on the first day of the inoculation drive. Dr Ranjit Mankeshwar, Dean, JJ Hospital, in Mumbai and Dr Padmaja Saraf received the shots in Mumbai and at Jalna civil hospital, respectively.

#WATCH | Pune: Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla receives a shot of #COVISHIELD vaccine manufactured by his company.

(Video credit – Poonawalla's Twitter account) pic.twitter.com/grC4uKc804

— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2021

In Pune, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla also received a shot of Covishield vaccine manufactured by his company.

In Telangana, a woman sanitation worker received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Hyderabad as the exercise was launched on Saturday. The woman sanitation worker was administered the shot amid cheers by those present at the state-run Gandhi Hospital after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on the occasion of the vaccine roll out concluded.

In Gujarat, a medical van driver from Rajkot, Ashokbhai, was one of the first beneficiaries of COVID-19 vaccine. Former president of Medical Council of India (MCI) Dr Ketan Desai, was the second person to receive the shot at civil hospital in Ahmedabad. In Ahmedabad civil hospital, the first doses of vaccine were given to doctors in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.

In Tamil Nadu, a government doctor became the first to be administered the shot. Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA) president Dr K Senthil was the first to be administered the vaccine in the state at the Government Rajaji Hospital premises here in the presence of Palaniswami, his Cabinet colleagues and senior officials.

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In Goa, a hospital worker became the first person to receive the coronavirus vaccine on
Saturday, health officials said. Ranganath Bhojje, a worker at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) near here, was the first to receive the vaccine dose in the coastal state, an official said.

In Chhattisgarh, the first person to be vaccinated was a 51-year-old woman sanitation worker at a government hospital. Tulsa Tandi worked at the Dr B R Ambedkar Memorial Hospital Raipur since 2008, according to officials. Tandi was administered the Covishield vaccine at the local Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, reports said.

In West Bengal, a doctor of a private hospital received the first shot, officials said. Bipasha Seth is the first person who got inoculated in the state, the hospital authorities said. “It’s a great day for humankind. I feel elated to get the first dose,” said Seth. State Minister for Labour Nirmal Maji also received the Covishield vaccine at the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, the officials said.

In Madhya Pradesh, a sanitary worker was among the first beneficiaries to receive the COVID-19 vaccine shot. Healthcare workers were welcomed with flowers at some centres while doctors performed a ‘puja’ at a temple in Gwalior, as the inoculation drive rolled out. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan thanked “corona warriors” on the occasion.

(With inputs from agencies)