Maharashtra: Over 18,000 health staff get the Covid-19 vaccine jab

The corona vaccination campaign started in Maharashtra with a sense of joy on Saturday. However, there were some doubts in the minds of the health workers to take up the vaccine. The workers were vaccinated at 285 centres in the State.

After the national launch by the Prime Minister, the State level campaign was launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai and Health Minister Rajesh Tope at Jalna District Hospital. More than 18,338 health employees were vaccinated. In some places, vaccination continued even after 7 pm.

State Health Secretary Pradip Vyas said that the vaccination has received the expected response from the staff and there have been no reports of serious side effects from the vaccine anywhere in the State.

Where there was a technical problem with the Covin app, the central government has given permission for manual registration . The next session of vaccination will be held on Monday or Tuesday after discussions with the central government regarding the Covin app, Vyas added.

Tope said that the vaccine against corona is safe and the eight lakh health workers registered for vaccination in the State should take the vaccine and spread the message of vaccination to the public. Health workers including doctors, nurses, ward boys and ambulance drivers who worked continuously during the Coronavirus period are getting the vaccines in the first phase.

On the other hand, a leading physician at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital said that along with health workers the politicians also should have got themselves inoculated, which would have set a good example about vaccine safety.

Immediate past president of Maharashtra unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Avinash Bhondwe said that IMA is observing the whole vaccination campaign. Some IMA leaders have received the vaccine jab. There have been no reports of any adverse reaction in those who got the jab..