Third highest turnout: 87,000 take jab in mega vaccination drive in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: More than 87,000 people made beelines at various centres in Lucknow on Friday to take the jab against Covid-19.
The number was below the target of administering 1.2 lakh doses on the occasion of PM’s birthday, but was still the third highest single-day inoculation since the start of the mass immunisation vaccination in January. Around 576 vaccination booths, including 155 special camps, were set up.
Chief medical officer Dr Manoj Agrawal said that turnout was below expectation because water accumulation in many areas following Thursday’s downpour did not recede even after rain stopped.
“The state government had allocated Lucknow 1.5 lakh doses for Friday, but since the target could not be met, the drive has been extended till Saturday,” he added.
A TOI reality check at various centres found long queues since early morning. Covid protocol went for a toss at many places with people standing closes to each other without masks. Technical issues also surfaced at some.
As the turnout at some centres was heavy, vaccination continued till late evening. The drive was by and large smooth with no side-effect due to vaccine reported till the reports last came in.
The centre at Gurdwara Naka Hindola recorded 1,046 vaccinations, the highest in the district.
Minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhari inspected vaccination at SPM Civil Hospital.
1 Covid case
One more case of Covid-19 was recorded in the city on Friday. However, no patient recovered in the past 24 hours. The number of patients with active infection status was 24.