Slow but steady: Only 20 pc of targeted vaccination achieved in Tamil Nadu

With a target of 14,460 shots of Covishield and 600 shots of Covaxin on day 2 of the drive, authorities have achieved only 20.11 per cent of the goal. However, there was an increase in numbers when compared to day 1. On Saturday, only 18.83 per cent of the targeted healthcare workers were vaccinated. So far, 6,155 have received their first shots. The drive was held at 170 vaccination sites, including 158 vaccination sites for Covishield and 12 sites for Covaxin. The highest number of vaccine doses were administered in Chennai with 402 healthcare workers inoculated, which was followed by 245 healthcare workers in Coimbatore. Though minor challenges of slow network issues and other glitches were observed in a few districts, the State Health Department officials said that no major issues were reported in the process. “There have been no reports of adverse effects due to the vaccine in the State so far,” officials added. 

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Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan received the first dose of Covaxin on Sunday at Tiruchy Government General Hospital. He claimed to have expressed his willingness to get vaccinated to build the trust and confidence of the people in the vaccine. “I took it as it is important to emphasize to the public that the vaccine is safe,” he said. He said that the healthcare workers, who got the doses, should continue to follow the safety and preventive measures. “Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) has approved the vaccines as it is believed to produce antibodies against COVID-19,” added. 

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