GUWAHATI: Assam to begin COVID-19 vaccination run on Saturday along with the rest of the country. The vaccination drive will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after which 3 lakh health workers will get the vaccine shots on the first day.
Twelve senior doctors in Assam will be the first to get the initial doses of the vaccine, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The doctors considered for the first dose of vaccine at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) are–Dr UC Sarma, Dr Dhrubojyoti Bora, Dr Illias Ali, Dr Bibhash Chandra Goswami, Dr Subhash Khanna, Dr Harsha Bhattacharjee, Dr Rathindra Bhuyan, Dr Anup Barman, Dr Achyut Baishya, Dr Abhijit Sarma, Dr Brajen Lahkar and Dr Manoj Choudhury, Sarma said
The minister said that nearly 1.9 lakh COVID warriors will be covered in the first phase and they will be followed by one lakh frontline workers in the second stage.
Although the requirement for the first stage is 3, 80,000 doses, the Assam government has so far received 2, 21,500 doses, of which 210,500 are Covishield vaccine and the remaining 20,000 are Covaxin.
For the administration of Covaxin, written consent will be required on the part of the beneficiary.
Minister Sarma said that the vaccination will be extended for people aged about 50 years in the subsequent stage.
Along with that, people with co-morbidities (below 50 years of age) will also be considered for vaccination in the later stage.
The vaccination is not recommended for pregnant women or children below 18 years of age, the minister added.
He further informed that 65 vaccination sites, including seven medical colleges and 24 district hospitals, have been identified in all the 33 districts in the state.
Each site would administer vaccine to 100 persons in a day.
SOURCE: PRATIDIN TIME
