Covid vaccine will be offered in 65 centers across Assam: Himanta Biswa

Jan. 15: Along with the rest of the country, COVID-19 vaccination drive will begin in Assam also on 16 January, 2021 at 65 centres. COVISHIELD vaccine will be administered at 59 centres and COVAXIN at 6 centres across the state. This was stated by Health Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sharma on Friday in a press conference held at Janata Bhavan, Guwahati. The minister further informed that the vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women & children below 18 years of age.

COVID warriors will get the vaccine in the first phase. Frontline workers (police, paramilitary, army etc.) will be given the vaccine in the second phase, and in the third phase, people above 50 years of age will receive the vaccine. Those with comorbidity but below 50 years will also be administered the vaccine. These three levels will cover 33% of Assam’s population including 1.9 lakh health workers (Covid warriors), 1 lakh front-line workers (frontline workers). A total of 2.9 lakh already registered beneficiaries will get the vaccine in Assam. So at present, 1.9 lakh health workers (from doctors to support staff – of both private & public health institutes). Around 8651 nurses and 1300 doctors have been trained for giving the doses.

Press Meet at Janata Bhawan https://t.co/O6wFJT2IyL

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 15, 2021

The minister further informed that 6,500 people in Assam will receive the vaccine per day. The vaccines will be administered 4 days in a week. It will be free in the first and second phases. It was however not informed how much the vaccine will cost in the later phases. So far, Assam has received 2,21,500 Covid vaccines, out of which  2,01,500 are COVISHIELD and 20,000 doses are  COVAXIN. He also mentioned that before taking Covaxin, the beneficiaries are required to give a written consent. But in the cases of Covishield no such written consent is required. But both the process of vaccination is totally voluntary.

The second dose should be taken after 28 days and the third dose should be taken after 14 days. After that, the person will be completely immune from COVID-19. Himanta Biswa also specifically stated that even after taking the 1st dose, a person may become Covid positive. Initially, 12 eminent persons from Assam were invited to take the COVID vaccines. He also informed that as per the direction of PM Modi, all political leaders are barred from receiving the vaccine until further notice. The minister cautioned that the vaccine will be given to 10 people at the same time and not one by one. That is because, once a vaccine is opened, it will contain 10 doses, which will lost its efficiency if not administered then and there.

6,500 people in Assam will receive the vaccine per day. The vaccines will be administered 4 days in a week. It will be free in the first and second phases. It was, however, not informed how much the vaccine will cost in the later phases. It will take approximately 8 weeks to administer the vaccine to the people in the 1st phase. While replying to a query by a journalist, the minister informed that the vaccine has shown 70% efficiency and the credibility of it cannot be fully confirmed yet

 On Tuesday evening, the first consignment of 2.40 lakh vials of Covishield vaccine for Assam and Meghalaya had landed at the LGBI airport. A total of 20 boxes having vaccine close to 2,40,000 doses was delivered at the Guwahati airport, out of which 17 are for Assam and three for Meghalaya, and each box has 12,000 doses of the vaccine. The second consignment of 36,000 doses of the vaccine from Bharat Biotech arrived at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport, Borjhar in Guwahati on Wednesday morning. A freighter from Hyderabad brought the second consignment of three boxes (each box containing 12,000 doses) for Assam.

As India prepares for the mega vaccine drive, the two covid vaccines have reached different cities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick-off Covid-19 vaccination drive at 10.30 AM on 16 January, 2021 as the country initiates the world’s largest vaccination programme. On the same day, PM Modi will also officially launch the COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) app. It is a digital platform created by the Union Health Ministry for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery and distribution.