4,000 health care personnel in Telangana inoculated with COVID-19 vaccine

Amid cheers, a woman sanitationworker received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a staterun hospital here as the exercise was launched in Telangana onSaturday, with about 4,000 health care personnel receiving itand no severe reaction reported from any part of the state.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy andTelangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender formally launchedthe vaccination programme at the Gandhi Government Hospitalhere.

S Krishnamma, a woman sanitation worker, was administeredthe first shot amid cheers by those present at the GandhiHospital after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to thenation on the occasion of the vaccine roll out concluded.

She told media persons that she went ahead with receiving thevaccine shot first, though some of her family members wantedher to get inoculated later, to instill confidence to hercolleagues who had apprehensions about the vaccine.

The woman said she did not have any health complaintsafter taking the vaccine and appealed to all to receive thevaccine with courage in order to protect one's health.

State Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao said thevaccination programme was started at 140 out of the 1,213sites in the state.

While the target was to vaccinate 4,296 people onSaturday, it was administered to 3,962 people, officialsources said.

Rao said only 11 mild ''AEFI'' cases were reported withcomplaints like pain, giddiness and sweating, which are commonin any vaccination programme.

No severe reaction had been reported anywhere in thestate, he said.

Some healthcare personnel refused to take the vaccine onthe first day, but efforts were on to convince them, Rao said.

Only Covishield vaccine (of the Serum Institute) was usedon Saturday, he said.

Rajender, who attended a video conference with UnionHealth Minister Harsh Vardhan, said 140 centres have been setup in the state to administer the vaccine.

The state government realised 90 per cent of the targetin the inoculation programme, an official release quotedRajender as saying.

Saying that the software used for the vaccination drivedid not work in some centres, Rajender urged the Union HealthMinister to further simplify the software, it said.

Rajender also sought more vaccine doses.

The vaccination campaign also began simultaneously atvarious other locations in the state where state ministers andother public representatives were present.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, a medical doctor,visited the state-run Nizam''s Institute of Medical Sciences(NIMS) in the city.

''Nizam institute medical science Hyderabad to greet theRecepients of vaccines on the Historic vaccine launch today.

It is a THANKS giving day to all Drs nurses para medics &sanitary workers who served covid patients.

Visionary @PMOIndia who stood with scientists effortsalways,'' she tweeted.

B Vinod Kumar, vice chairman of state planning board,attended the event at Vangara in Warangal Urban district, thenative village of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.

Several healthcare workers and others, who received thevaccine at different places in the state, told reporters thatthey did not experience any health issues.

The state government has invited public representatives,from village ''sarpanches'' to ministers, to participate in theprogramme to spread awareness among people about the exercise.

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