393 health workers vaccinated in Noida, Mahesh Sharma among first lawmakers to be inoculated

With a Covishield jab on his forearm, Gautam Buddh Nagar's BJP MP Mahesh Sharma got vaccinated for the coronavirus as a ''healthcare worker'' on Saturday, becoming one of the first parliamentarians in the country to get inoculated for the infection.

A total of 393 healthcare workers -- 221 men and 172 women -- got inoculated in this Uttar Pradesh district on the first day of the nationwide vaccination drive, officials said.

Healthcare workers Shamim, Ritu and Avanish were the first three in the district to get the shots of the vaccine. They were administered the vaccine at the Child PGI in Noida Sector 30 in the presence of District Magistrate (DM) Suhas L Y and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Deepak Ohri, according to an official statement.

The DM handed over a vaccination card to Shamim, who will get the follow-up dose of the vaccine after 28 days, according to the guidelines.

BJP MP Sharma, who is also a doctor, got vaccinated at his Kailash Hospital in Noida Sector 27 at 11 am, hospital spokesperson V B Joshi told PTI.

The 61-year-old former Union minister was kept in observation for 30 minutes at the hospital after he was inoculated, Joshi said.

''The beginning of the end for COVID-19 has started today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching the world's largest vaccination programme. As a doctor, I have also got vaccinated for the coronavirus. I am feeling absolutely fine. The vaccine is completely safe and all of you should get vaccinated,'' Sharma said in a tweet in Hindi.

The vaccination drive started in Gautam Buddh Nagar at six centres across Noida and Greater Noida, Dr Neeraj Tyagi, District Immunisation Officer, told PTI.

The centres earmarked for the purpose were the Child PGI in Sector 30, the Kailash Hospital in Sector 27, the CHCs at Bhangel and Bisrakh, the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and the Sharda Hospital in Greater Noida.

While the target was to inoculate 600 healthcare workers, 393 were vaccinated on the first day, the CMO said.

Gautam Buddh Nagar has received 28,840 doses of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), for the first round of vaccination, according to officials.

The DM said it was ''a historic day'' and lauded the role of the frontline workers, including health department officials, for their service on a ''war-footing'' over the last one year to help people.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)