Shillong, Jan 16: The eight northeastern states of India joined the rest of the country in giving Covid-19 vaccination with thousands of frontline health workers in hundreds of centres receiving the vaccine on Saturday against the dreaded Covid-19 disease.
Chief Ministers and Health Ministers of northeastern states formally kickstart the vaccination process in the state capitals while senior health officials especially the officials of National Health Mission (NHM) are monitoring the inoculation drive and uploading the necessary data in the Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) online platform.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was present at Assam Medical College and Hospital at Dibrugarh to monitor the vaccination process, which also simultaneously conducted at 65 session sites across the state’s 33 districts.
At Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) retired vice-chancellor of Sankardeva University of Health Science Umesh Chandra Sarma was the first person to receive the shot.
Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attended the vaccination programme at the GMCH, where more than 11 prominent doctors including its Superintendent Abhijeet Sharma have been administered Covid-19 vaccination as a confidence-building measure for the health workers who are bravely serving in the war against the disease.
After taking the vaccine the doctors told the media that the vaccines are safe and people should take them without any fear or doubt in due course of time.
In Assam, around 6,500 of the 1.90 lakh registered health workers and Covid warriors would be vaccinated on the first day at 65 centres while the Health department has given training to 8, 651 nurses and other health workers for the vaccination.
There are also 1,300 supervisors to monitor the vaccination process.
Assam so far has received 2,21,500 Covid-19 doses — 2,01,500 COVISHIELD and 20,000 COVAXIN.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, Manipur Chief Minister N.Biren Singh, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang and Health Minister M.K. Sharma, Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Bamang Felix and Mizoram Health Minister R. Lalthangliana formally kickstart the vaccination drive in the respective state capitals.
In Mizoram, a woman health care worker Lalmuanpuii, 44 took the vaccine at the Aizawl Civil Hospital and she was the first recipient of the vaccine in the mountainous state.
State Immunization Officer Lalzawmii informed in each of the centres 100 numbers of health workers were administered the vaccine in the first phase.
Lalzawmii said that there was no report of any untoward happening to any person during and after the vaccine shot.
In Sikkim, launching the immunization drive, Chief Minister Tamang said that the vaccination programme is a great example of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as both the vaccines are manufactured in India.
He highlighted that the cost of Indian vaccines is significantly lower than those manufactured outside.
In Shillong, Meghalaya Chief Minister said that today (Saturday) is a historic day as the people across the world are fighting against Covid-19 for almost a year now.
“This (vaccination drive) has really a very big mission in India as the economy of our country and lives of individuals have been distressed a lot,” Sangma told the media at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).
