India News | Vaccination: 58 Pc Covered on Day 1 in Pune, 71 Refuse

Pune, Jan 16 (PTI) Pune district health authorities managed to vaccinate 58 per cent of registered beneficiaries on Saturday, the first day of the COVID-19 inoculation drive, with nine of them showing "minor side effects", and 71 refusing to turn up, an official said.

The drive kicked off at 31 sites in the district, eight each in Pune municipal and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations and 15 in Pune rural, and the target was to vaccinate 3,100 registered health care workers, he said.

"A total of 1,802 out of 3,100, or around 58 per cent, were vaccinated. Barring nine incidents of minor side effects, no major adverse side effect was reported in the district, Of the 1,288 who did not turn up, 71 refused," said an official from the district administration.

Dr Nitin Abhyankar, among the first to get vaccinated in Kamla Nehru Hospital in Pune city, said he was proud of being part of this fight against the pandemic.

Dr Nitin Satav, a physician from a city hospital, said everyone should come forward to take the vaccine, while Dr Kiran Mahankale, who contracted COVID-19 in September and recovered, said health care workers must take the shots as it would protect them while treating patients.

Dr Murlidhar Tambe, Superintendent, Sassoon General Hospital, one of the 31 vaccine centres in Pune, wasamong the first beneficiaries.

"Till 1 pm, 37 beneficiaries, including doctors, have been given Covishield at Sassoon," he said.

Rajesh Karyakarte, head, Department of Microbiologyat B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, who tooreceived the jab, said vaccination is the only solution todevelop "herd immunity".

(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)