853 people take Covid vaccine, nurses take lead

Coimbatore: As many as 853 people took the vaccine against Covid-19 in the district on Thursday.
Unlike previous days, the number of nurses and supervisors who took the shot increased noticeably. The percentage of nurses taking the vaccine, which was hardly 16% on Monday, saw the figure rising to 30%. More private doctors arrived to take the shot at the 16-odd places where it is administered.Health department is now trying to get more private hospital staff to come forward.
Data with the health department shows that 254 nurses took the Covishield vaccine on Thursday, which is almost 100 people more than the 151 nurses, who took it on Wednesday. The figures were even less in the beginning of the drive. “Compared to a time when doctors formed 60% of the beneficiaries, and hardly 15% to 20% of the beneficiaries were nurses, the number of nurses is increasing,” said a health department official.
On Thursday, 455 of them took the shot at CMCH, followed by 245 at Karamadai PHC, 77 in Mettupalayam GH and 70 in Pollachi GH. They now hope to get all private hospital staff members to take the vaccine.
“Private hospitals may choose to take the vaccine in this phase, because it is free, compared to having to buy it for Rs Rs 1,000 a dose in the market after three months,” he added.