The State government vaccinated over 1.20 lakh residents, including nearly 1 lakh senior citizens, against Covid-19 virus on Day 1 of its special Panchayat level vaccination drive on Saturday, figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) highlighted.
The health department has set a target of vaccinating 10 lakh rural residents and achieved more than 10 per cent of the target on Day 1 of the week-long campaign. Over 1.4 lakh beneficiaries, both rural and urban, were registered for the first dose of the vaccine on the day. The state managed to vaccinate 89 per cent of the registered beneficiaries.
State NHM Director Ravi Shankar Shukla inspected vaccination centres in Tati and Churhu blocks of Hazaribag districts on Day 1 of the mass Panchayat level vaccination drive on Saturday. Shukla interacted with the beneficiaries and informed them about the benefits of getting vaccinated. He also asked about the reasons behind apprehension of villagers in getting vaccinated and cleared confusion among the rural residents in Hazaribag.
“The objective behind this special vaccination drive is to ensure maximum possible vaccinations in rural Jharkhand. While urban residents have been prompt in getting the vaccine jabs, rural residents in many areas of the state lacked awareness and were not as prompt as their urban counterparts,” said the NHM Director.
The special vaccination drive, which started on Saturday, will be held on March 21, March 23, March 24, March 26 and March 27. The health department has set up at least one vaccination centre in each of the 4526 Panchayats in the tribal state. Community Healthcare Centres (CHCs) and Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) are doubling up as Covid vaccination centres during the campaign, officials said.
Meanwhile, various healthcare workers and district level health officials inspected the mass vaccination drive at different blocks and Panchayats of the state on Saturday. No major cases of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) were reported from any of the Panchayats, officials said, adding that preference was given to senior citizens and middle-agers with comorbid conditions during the drive.
As per government data, of the 1,20,528 people vaccinated on the day, at least 99030 were senior citizens and 16,685 were middle-agers with comorbid conditions. Over 11,000 people got the jab in Ranchi, while Hazaribag administered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 10,000 people on the day. Most of the beneficiaries vaccinated on Saturday were rural residents, officials said.