A total of 553 sessions were held in six states on the second day of the massive countrywide COVID-19 vaccination programme, the Union health ministry said on Sunday. As per the provisional reports, as many as 17,072 beneficiaries were vaccinated on Sunday.
“A total of 2,24,301 beneficiaries have been vaccinated till today (Sunday) as per the provisional report,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry, India has vaccinated the highest number of persons on Day 1 (Saturday) under its COVID-19 vaccination drive, the world’s largest such exercise.
The six states where the vaccination drive was carried out on Sunday are Andhra Pradesh (308 sessions), Arunachal Pradesh (14 sessions), Karnataka (64 sessions), Kerala (one session), Manipur (one session) and Tamil Nadu (165 sessions).
The ministry said a total of 447 Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) have been reported during the vaccination in the last two days. “Of these, one has been discharged from Northern Railway Hospital Delhi within 24 hours; one has been discharged from AIIMS Delhi; and one is under observation in AIIMS Rishikesh and is being monitored,” it said.
Most of the AEFIs reported so far are like fever, headache and nausea.
“Protocols are in place for reporting, immediate case management at vaccination session site, transportation and hospitalization and further care of such cases. Protocols are also in place for systematic investigation and causality assessment of serious AEFIs,” the ministry said.
States and Union Territories have been advised to plan COVID-19 vaccination sessions four days in a week to minimise disruption of the routine health services.
The ministry said a meeting was held with all the states and UTs on Sunday to review the progress, identify bottle-necks and plan corrective actions as the vaccination program moves ahead.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest inoculation drive against COVID-19 on Saturday and said the two vaccines being deployed will ensure a "decisive victory" for India against the pandemic.
India has approved two vaccines -- Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and Covishield from the Oxford/AstraZeneca stable being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India -- for emergency use in the country.
