2.2 lakh jabs, 447 adverse events by day-2 end

NEW DELHI:  The second day of Covid-19 vaccination saw over 17,000 people getting their first shot across six states. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,  17,072 people were vaccinated across Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, and Tamil Nadu.

By Sunday evening, 2,24,301 people had been inoculated, of whom 447 reported adverse events following immunisation but only three required hospitalisation, the ministry’s Additional Secretary Manohar Agnani said. Most of the adverse effects reported so far are minor like fever, headache, and nausea. While two Delhi patients have been discharged, one person is under observation at AIIMS Rishikesh.

Agnani said a meeting was held with all states and UTs on Sunday to review the progress of the drive, identify bottlenecks, and plan corrective actions. Saturday’s was “the highest day-one vaccination number (2,07,229) in the world. The figures are higher than the US, UK, and France”, he said.

Most states have also put out a clear weekly schedule for Covid vaccine delivery so as not to disrupt their routine health services.  

Barring Andamans (three days) and Andhra (six days), a majority of the states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana, opted for a four-day schedule.