LUCKNOW: People who have recovered from Covid-19 will also get
vaccine shots during the mass drive likely to begin in the third week of January.
CMO Sanjay Bhatnagar said, “Health workers will be vaccinated in the first phase. We will also vaccinate those
health workers who have battled Covid-19. A similar policy will be followed in subsequent phases.”
As it takes at least 14 days to completely recover from the virus, a patient should wait for two weeks before taking the shot as there is a possibility of such people infecting others at the immunisation centre.
Dr Virendra Atam, head of
KGMU’s medicine department said, “Since natural antibodies remain in the body for 3 to 4 months and there is a risk of reinfection, vaccination of recovered patients is also important.”
According to estimates, about 1,500 health workers, including doctors, contracted the infection in the line of duty in the city since the outbreak. These workers include about 700 in KGMU, 140 in RMLIMS, 46 in SPM Civil, 11 each at CMO office and
Balrampur Hospital, among others. Nearly 400 cops, 135 employees of 108 and 102 Call Centre for ambulance service and 50 staffers of LMC, also got infected during this period.
The virus also claimed the lives of eight health and frontline workers, including a doctor at Avantibai hospital, two KGMU employees, four LMC staffers and a lab technician at Chinhat community health centre.