Bhubaneswar, March 1: As many as 785 people, including 749 senior citizens and 36 comorbid people were administered their first vaccine shots in State capital city of Bhubaneswar as the phase-II nation-wide COVID-19 vaccination drive began.
The vaccination process that started at 10 AM continued till 5 PM.
Today, vaccination drive was carried out at 12 centers such as Capital Hospital, Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHC) at Pokhariput, Ghatikia, Saheed Nagar, IRC Village, Unit – IX, Urban Community Health Centre at Unit-IV, Patia, Dumduma, BMC Hospital, Police Hospital, AIIMS and 10 private hospitals in the city.
Vaccine was provided free of cost to these beneficiaries at government hospitals and Rs 250 was charged at private medicals in the city after registration of their names on CoWIN app. The Civic Body has deployed a four-member team which comprises two trained health workers at each center to ensure the vaccination process smooth and hassle-free.
Rabindra Nath Padhee (74), a retired banker who took the vaccine shot along with wife today, heaved a sigh of relief, saying there should not be any hesitation in taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We were eagerly waiting to take the vaccine as Indian vaccine is the best in the world. It is extremely important to take the vaccine against Covid-19 and so we became more confident from now onwards,” said Padhee, with a smile.
Senior citizens walked in for vaccination by producing documents like Aadhaar card, photo identity card, NFSA card or driving licence etc. People with comorbidities produced a health certificate duly signed by a registered medical practitioner.
Zonal Deputy Commissioners (ZDCs) were supervising the necessary arrangements and looking overall management of the vaccine centers at their respective zones in the city.
