Gujarat kicks off Covid-19 vaccination drive, 16,000 to get vaccinated on Saturday

AHMEDABAD: When Dr Naveen Thaker, the executive director of the International Paediatric Association (IPA), and Dr Ketan Desai, the former president of World Medical Association (WMA), were given the shots of Covishield at 11.25am on Saturday, Gujarat marked the start of the mass vaccination drive for Covid-19.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani and deputy CM Nitin Patel were present on the occasion at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.
Earlier, the top authorities from the state participated in a video conference with PM Narendra Modi where he addressed the vaccination centres across India and interacted with the beneficiaries.
“People were eagerly waiting for the vaccine, and now the PM has started the nation-wide drive. In Gujarat, we have established 161 centres for vaccination, where about 16,000 beneficiaries would get vaccinated today,” said CM Rupani.
“The health workers have been chosen for the first shots of the protective vaccine as they have worked tirelessly since the start of the pandemic and have even laid their lives while treating patients,” Rupani said.
The CM also urged the citizens to take the vaccine without fear or apprehension.
“Please don’t believe any misinformation. The vaccine is completely safe and scientifically proven,” he said.
Deputy CM Patel said that the participation of top doctors from both private and public sectors in the first leg of vaccination shows their trust in the process.
“In the first two legs of vaccination, about 3 crore people in India would be covered. In Gujarat, we will be covering over 10 lakh people, including healthcare workers and frontline workers,” said Patel, adding that every vaccination centre would be administering 100 shots daily.
Talking to TOI, Dr Thaker said that he has administered thousands of vaccines as a paediatrician and has also taught the science behind it.
“Thus, it was a natural process for me to be one of the first recipients of the vaccine when it was available. It's the beginning of the end of the pandemic and everyone should be part of it,” he said.
Other recipients of the vaccine in the first leg included Dr Mona Desai, chairperson of women’s wing of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr JP Modi, medical superintendent of Civil Hospital, Dr Dileep Mavalankar, director of IIPH Gandhinagar (IIPH-G), Dr HP Bhalodia, leading orthopaedic surgeon among others.
Dr Modi told TOI that in the first hour of the vaccination, there has been no report of any side effects. “I also took the shot, and I have not reported any side effects. We will be keeping a close watch on all the recipients,” he said, adding that a special ward is also created for the post-vaccination observation of the patients.
Other centres such as SVP Hospital, VS Hospital, LG Hospital, Shardaben Hospital etc. also started the vaccination drive along with a few private hospitals in the city and state.
A top health department officials said that the Co-WIN glitch, which was reported on Friday evening, was resolved and all the beneficiaries were enrolled on the software.