Bengaluru, Belagavi top districts in vaccination drive on PM Narendra Modi’s birthday

BENGALURU: The state capital and Belagavi emerged as the top two districts in the country in administering Covid-19 vaccines on Friday, when a mega drive was held nationwide on the occasion of PM Narendra Modi’s birthday.
More than 4 lakh jabs were given in Bengaluru (BBMP limits) and over 2.5 lakh in Belagavi, according to the data shared by the Union health and family welfare ministry.This is a big confidence booster for Belagavi, which struggled to increase coverage during the initial days because of vaccine supply woes.
Ballari district, which has seen the highest number of online medical consultations in the state under a central scheme, is in the 10th position in the vaccination drive. It administered more than 1.5 lakh jabs. The numbers are up to date till 7.45am on Saturday; the data is still being updated as there was huge traffic on Friday. The other districts/ regions that performed well are East Champaran, Surat Corporation, West Godavari, Mumbai, Muzaffarpur, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore and Ahmedabad Corporation.
Belagavi deputy commissioner MG Hiremath told STOI that the district had set a target of achieving 3 lakh doses. “Although, we could not reach the goal, we stood second in the country on Friday, a remarkable achievement,” he said. He stressed that this would not have been possible without the coordinated efforts of health, revenue, rural development and other local departments.
District immunisation officer IP Gadad said that vaccinations were very close to 3 lakh on Friday. The actual number of doses is 2.9 lakh, which was not updated. He said the district administration roped in every registered medical practitioner to expedite the process.
The DC started conducting rounds at 7am and remained in the field till 7pm .
Ballari district health officer Jagadish HL said that jabs were given at 938 centres. In rural areas, staff members were sent in a day early to ensure the drive began on time. He said that the final data was still being uploaded and the numbers were above 2 lakh.