Noida: The Co-WIN portal had received 15,035 registrations from Gautam Budh Nagar for vaccine shots by Thursday evening, around one-fourth of the March
target of 66,000, as the third phase of inoculations for the 60-plus population and those above 45 with comorbidities got under way across UP.
Some hospitals reported a big rush but vaccinations still fell well short of the target set for the first day — 4,085 of the targeted 6,741 recipients received the shots on the first day, a 61% turnout. While 1,826 of the recipients were vaccinated at government hospitals, 2,259 got the jabs in private hospitals.
A majority of the recipients on Thursday was registered during walk-ins at session sites. Officials from the health department said it is the initial stage of the third phase and very few people could register on the portal. Besides, they said, some people may want to wait for a few days.
Unlike some other cities where online registrations started a few weeks back, Noida started the drive on Wednesday. Several recipients who got appointments on the same day said the online
registration process is smooth and all centres were visible.
Vinai Kumar Srivastava, a Sector 77 resident, who went to CHC Bisrakh for the jab, said: “I didn’t expect a government facility to be well-organised and sanitised, but the experience was good. My wife and I were taken in quickly, based on our online registrations. It took five minutes for the
vaccination and half an hour for observation. We were home within an hour. Even in that duration, the health workers sanitised the premises several times.”
All those who opted for paid vaccination at private facilities did not face any difficulty in registrations or while getting the jab. Ajay Sahay, a Sector 50 resident, got the vaccine along with three other family members at Holy Family Hospital. “The process was efficient and caused us no hassle. Though it is a small private healthcare centre, it was well-managed,” said Sahay.
SJM Super Speciality Hospital in Sector 63 had vaccinated 103 recipients by 12.30pm. They had one session site for Thursday with a quota to vaccinate 100 recipients. They, however, ended up inoculating 180. “We faced a big rush, due to which we took approval from the district immunisation officer (DIO) Dr Neeraj Tyagi and vaccinated all those who came to our hospital. We will be getting more doses of the vaccine for tomorrow’s session,” said Roopesh Kumar, HR manager at the hospital. Similarly, Kailash hospital in Sector 27 also exceeded its target of 200 recipients and vaccinated 350.
Some major private hospitals in the city faced minor hiccups, officials said. Fortis and Yatharth hospitals began the vaccinations after 1-2pm as they were busy with preparations and meetings. Fortis Hospital in Sector 62 managed to vaccinate 131 people against a target of 200.
At the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), a total of 329 persons got vaccinated. Among them, 312 were senior citizens who got the first dose. Besides, 17 second-dose jabs were given to healthcare workers. “Two cases of mild AEFI (adverse effect after immunisation) were reported, but they were stable after some time,” said Brigadier Dr RK Gupta (retd), director of GIMS.