A vaccination drive was conducted at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam for the officials, priests and staff of the temple on Wednesday.
Though it was initially planned to inoculate 150 members on the first day, 163 persons were administered vaccines as more people landed at the eleventh hour. Temple Trustee P. Sanchaita Gajapati Raju was the first to take the jab.
Temple Executive Officer M.V. Suryakala and other officials supervised the programme and reviewed the sanitation of the premises and controlling of queues from morning till evening. They ensured that every one wore marks and gloves and maintained social distance.
The health of the employees was monitored before the vaccination. Post-vaccination, they were kept under observation for half an hour.
COVID protocols
Preference was given to the priests during the drive. The priests, who were on leave, have been asked to report for vaccination. Ms. Sanchaita Gajapati Raju said that all the temple staff and their family members above 18 years of age, would be vaccinated. She advised the staff to adhere to the COVID-19 protocol.
All the staff were administered Covishield doses. There are around 800 employees, including watchmen, outsourcing and contract staff and all of them would be inoculated.
