Mumbai, Feb 9 (PTI)More than 23,700 healthcare professionals and frontline workers were vaccinated against COVID-19 in Maharashtra on Tuesday, said a state health official.

With this, the number of people inoculated so far in the state rose to 5,36,197, he said.

"Today, 23,721 persons received vaccine doses in the state of which 11,378 were frontline workers," the official said.

TheCOVID-19 vaccinationdrivebegan in the state on January 16 as part of the nationwide programme.

Initially, vaccine shots were given only to healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and ASHA volunteers, and later frontline workers like police personnel and sanitation staffers were added to the list of beneficiaries.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)