Sikkim successfully conducts COVID-19 vaccination dry run

The Sikkim government on Saturday conducted a dry run for COVID-19 vaccination at an urban PHC in Gangtok, a senior health official said. Sikkim being a small state, Centre allowed the dry run to be held at only one location, she said.We are fully prepared to conduct the actual COVID-19 vaccination.

The Sikkim government on Saturday conducted a dry run for COVID-19 vaccination at an urban PHC in Gangtok, a senior health official said. The dry run was conducted smoothly and strengths and disadvantages were known, State Immunisation Officer Dr P Denzongpa said.

State government offices in Sikkim will reopen only after January 4. Sikkim being a small state, Centre allowed the dry run to be held at only one location, she said.

''We are fully prepared to conduct the actual COVID-19 vaccination. We have strengthened our cold storage units. All district hospitals and even PHCs already have the necessary infrastructure in place because of other routine vaccination drives held earlier across the state,'' Denzongpa told PTI. The list of first beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccine has been prepared, she said.

Sikkim now has 530 active COVID-19 cases, while 5,157 people have recovered so far and one fresh fatality has pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 129. The Himalayan state has so far tested 69,114 samples for COVID-19.