Covid vaccination: 1.91 lakh get shots on day 1; Delhi, Maharashtra report adverse events - key updates

As India began its nationwide vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus, 1,91,181 healthcare and frontline workers received the jab on Saturday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's biggest inoculation drive against the pandemic that has caused 1,52,093 deaths and upended millions of lives in the country.

The Health Ministry said that the massive inoculation exercise was done during 3,352 sessions conducted by 16,755 vaccinators, marking it as a historic and biggest coronavirus vaccination drive launched by PM Modi.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had virtually interacted with the health ministers of all states and Union Territories, congratulating officials for the successful rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Vardhan said the two coronavirus vaccines -- Covaxin developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Covishield by the Serum Institute -- were a 'sanjivani', life infusing, in the fight against the killer virus.

The Indian drug regulator, DCGI, had approved SII's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for emergency use on 2 January.

India's Covid vaccination drive at a glance

India kicked off the world's largest Covid-19 vaccination drive on Saturday. Here's all you need to know about India's Covid-19 vaccine drive:

1) Sanitation worker Manish Kumar became the first person in the country to be vaccinated against coronavirus on Saturday. Kumar had received his vaccine shot at New Delhi's (AIIMS).

2) According to the government, 21,291 Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered in Uttar Pradesh followed by 18,328 in Maharashtra, 18,412 in Andhra Pradesh and 18,169 in Bihar among others.

3) Apart from healthcare and frontline workers, additional 3,429 beneficiaries were inoculated with Covid-19 vaccine in Defence institutions, including the Indian Army and the Indian Navy.

4) The total number of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) post-coronavirus vaccine in Delhi stands at 52 out of which only one is severe, according to the Delhi Government.

5) Maharashtra reported 14 cases of adverse events, none of them fatal, on Day 1 of the Covid-19 vaccination drive in the state. More than 14,000 beneficiaries, about 50% of those supposed to be vaccinated on Day 1 had received the shots.

6) As many as 14 cases of AEFI were reported in West Bengal on the first day of the nationwide coronavirus vaccination drive. "Total 15,707 healthcare beneficiaries vaccinated in the state today. 14 cases of AEFI were reported including one serious case (condition stable) of AEFI admitted at NRS Medical College," the West Bengal Health Department has said.

7) Soon after the first vaccination drive against Covid-19 began in Telangana, 11 mild AEFI cases were reported in the state. The beneficiaries felt pain, giddiness and sweating, which are the most common in any vaccination programme.

8) Out of 12,558 people who received the first shot of Covid-19 vaccination in Rajasthan on day one, there were 21 cases of AEFI in nine districts of the state.

9) Bharat Biotech, whose Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has been cleared for emergency use while still in the clinical trial, has said that it will pay compensation to any beneficiary who will face serious adverse after-effects post-vaccination.

10) India plans to inoculate nearly 30 crore people with two doses of its Covid-19 vaccines in the first six to eight months of 2021. Frontline workers will be followed by around 27 crore people older than 50 or deemed high-risk because of pre-existing medical conditions.