Noida (UP), Jan 11 (PTI) Over 1,100 'practice beneficiaries' were administered shots during the second 'dry run' for COVID-19 vaccination that was conducted in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Monday amid tight security, officials said.

The first dry run (or mock drill) for the vaccination had taken place at six centres -- three rural and three urban -- in the district on January 5.

The dry run was held at 30 centres spread across 75 sessions during which 1,125 practice beneficiaries were administered the mock vaccine, District Information Officer Rakesh Chauhan said in a statement.

There were 15 beneficiaries per session of the mock drill, he added.

"District Magistrate Suhas L Y reviewed the dry run at the CHC (community healthcare centre) in Bhangel. He instructed health department officials to adequately prepare and follow guidelines for the actual vaccination drive which will begin in the coming days on orders of the state government," Chauhan said.

Earlier, a police statement said the dry run was conducted successfully at all vaccination centres in Gautam Buddh Nagar by the health and the police departments.

"Any shortcomings highlighted during the dry runs are being identified and corrected," the statement added.

Four health department officials and two security personnel from the police department were deployed at each vaccination centre, according to the statement.

"A District Vaccine Store (DVS) has been created in the district and 10 police officials, including a sub-inspector, a head constable and eight constables, have been put on security duty to take the vaccine safely to the eight cold chain points (CCPs) in the district. Armed personnel from reserved police lines have also been deployed at the CCP," it stated.

Besides, local police stations had deployed a sub-inspector and two constables at vaccination centres in their area, it added.

The dry run on Monday was held at 1,500 centres in Uttar Pradesh, where the vaccination drive is scheduled to begin from January 16, according to state government officials.

(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)