Gujarat vaccinates 90 pc of eligible population with first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Gujarat has vaccinated 90 percent of its eligible population with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 47 percent of beneficiaries are completely vaccinated against the deadly disease, state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Patel congratulated the countrymen, as India achieved the milestone of administering 100 crore vaccine doses ''under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi''.

As per the official figures, Gujarat has around 4.93 crore people above the age of 18, who are eligible to take the vaccine against coronavirus.

Till 10 am, nearly 4.41 crore people, which comes to around 90 percent, have received their first dose, while 2.35 crore has taken their second dose as well, the minister said.

''At least 90 percent of the eligible population has been given the first dose till today, while nearly 47 percent, that is 2.32 crore, have been given the second dose. I urge people to come forward so that we can vaccinate 100 percent of the population with the first dose,'' Patel said.

The Surat, Junagadh, and Gandhinagar municipal corporations along with Ahmedabad, Junagadh, Mahisagar, and Tapi districts have achieved 100 percent coverage of the first dose, he said.

Apart from this, around 15,500 villages have also achieved this milestone in Gujarat so far, he added.

''We are planning to achieve 100 percent first dose coverage in the next 15 days in Gujarat. For that, we will ask government hospitals and health centers to check if incoming patients are vaccinated or not. We have also asked heads of government offices to check and ensure that all their entire staff is vaccinated,'' Patel said.

To ensure that people also take their second dose in time, the minister said his department will launch a drive using the available data to trace and track people who have already taken the first dose.

People need not worry about the availability of vaccines, as the Gujarat government has nearly 40 lakh doses of the vaccine, Patel added.

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