Vaccination for 18-44 group: First day sees - Hindustan Times
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Vaccination for 18-44 group: First day sees

By, Ranchi
May 14, 2021 09:32 PM IST

After a fortnight’s delay, Jharkhand finally launched the much-awaited mass vaccination drive to inoculate the targeted 1

After a fortnight’s delay, Jharkhand finally launched the much-awaited mass vaccination drive to inoculate the targeted 1.57 crore citizens aged between 18-44 years with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on Friday.

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Rolling out the drive at the Covid-19 vaccination centre (CVC) set up on premises of Shri Krishna Institute of Public Administration (SKIPA) in Ranchi, chief minister Hemant Soren said, “After a long wait, we are now able to provide free vaccination to our youths aged between 18-44 years. Vaccine is the safeguard against this infection. So, I appeal everyone to come forward to take the jab.”

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He added, “It is true that coronavirus keeps changing its genetic code and its new variant surfaces. But, we can’t surrender. We will have to fight back by breaking the chain of infection.”

Meanwhile, health minister Banna Gupta said the government was fully committed to protect its citizens. “We are working tirelessly to spruce up the health system and even a small loophole is being plugged,” he said.

On Friday, the vaccination drive was launched at 496 CVCs set up across the state to inoculate the targeted 27,539 beneficiaries.

State capital Ranchi, which is the hardest hit by the pandemic, has the maximum 13.9 lakh population against the state’s target of 1.57 crore beneficiaries in the aforementioned age group. Five CVCs each for Ranchi urban and rural was set up on Friday to inoculate 1,000 registered beneficiaries.

“I am quite relieved axed after taking the shot. It’s really needed for the younger generation that can’t stay indoors due to lot of compulsions. However, I know that maintaining adequate Covid behaviour is still vital even after taking the jab to keep the infection at bay,” said 30-year-old Umesh Kumar, a resident of Ranchi’s Kutchery area, who took the shot at SKIPA CVC.

Ranchi district, which has targeted to inoculate 1,000 beneficiaries every day, has all its time slots booked till May 20. More than 15,000 people, who have already registered themselves, are waiting for allotment of time slots. “The booking for time slots for dates after May 20 will be opened in a couple of days,” said an official at Ranchi civil surgeon’s office.

He added, “The final coverage figures are being calculated but it has been found that Ranchi on Friday reported above 90% vaccination coverage in this group. It has also been noticed that some people, who are residents of Ranchi urban, have booked slots in rural areas in haste. But, they didn’t turn up. This will lead to cancellation of their session. We request everyone to chose the time slot as per one’s convenience and ensure their presence at CVCs. Non-appearance will deprive a needy persons from taking the shot and lead to wastage of vaccine as well.”

Besides Ranchi, Dhanbad district, which has the second largest population under the 18-44 age group, targeted to inoculate 4,930 people on Day 1.

The third phase of the nationwide inoculation drive began on May 1 in many parts of the country under which citizens in the age group of 18 to 44 years are allowed to take the jab. But, it could not be started in Jharkhand as the state was required to purchase the doses from the two vaccine manufacturing companies, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech, that produce Covishield and Covaxin, respectively .

Against its purchase orders, Jharkhand has so far received 2.34 lakh doses of Covishield and Covaxin.

Pre-registration is mandatory for vaccination in the 18-44 age group, and walk-ins are not allowed under this category for now.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Bedanti Saran is Special Correspondent in Jharkhand and has been handling legal beats, CBI, ED, Income Tax and other investigation wings for over a decade

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