New BMC commissioner Sanjay Kumar Singh at a Covid vaccination centre in Bhubaneswar on Friday
BHUBANESWAR: Changing its priority of administering the second dose of Covishield to those who have already got the first dose, the state government on Friday decided to inoculate as many as possible in the 45+ age group with the first dose. The move comes after the Centre increased the gap between two doses of Covishield from 6-8 weeks now to a minimum of 12 weeks.
Additional chief secretary (health) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra said there are not that many people due for second dose. “That is the reason the government will now give priority to people who have not been inoculated even once,” Mohapatra said.
Youngsters wait for their turn to get inoculated at the upper primary health centre in Unit-IV, Bhubaneswar on Friday
BHUBANESWAR: Vaccination of people in the 18 to 44 age group in places other than Bhubaneswar continues to be uncertain as there is still no clarity on the supply of Covishield. Director, family welfare, Bijay Kumar Panigrahi said the Serum Institute of India has indicated that some vaccine may come in the third week. However, the state would get a consignment of only around 2.20 lakh doses of Covishield with no clarity on subsequent supply.
So even if the vaccination starts with these doses, the inoculation exercise will not be state-wide. If the supply remains low, priority will be given to the four cities of Cuttack, Rourkela, Berhampur and Sambalpur, additional chief secretary (health) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra said. As reported earlier, Odisha has been using Covaxin in Bhubaneswar only and using Covishield in rest of the state. Since its requirement for Covaxin
Officials said since the beginning of the vaccination drive on January 16, Odisha has reported 110 AFEI, 22 of which were termed serious and the remaining 88 mild to moderate (Representative image)
Bhubaneswar: A 57-year-old man from Puri district, who had taken the first dose of Covishield on Sunday afternoon, died later that night after reporting adverse event following immunization (AEFI). This has taken the number of such deaths to six in the state.
Director family welfare (DFW) Bijay Kumar Panigrahi said the autopsy report of the deceased is still awaited. “All the six deaths are being reviewed to find out if any of them had a correlation with the vaccine. All the six had co-morbid medical conditions,” he added.
3.2 lakh people to get COVID-19 vaccination in first phase in Odisha Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) said Tuesday that 3.2 lakh people in Odisha will receive COVID-19 vaccination in the first phase. DMET director, Dr CBK Mohanty confirmed that the Odisha government has the necessary infrastructure ready to start COVID-19 vaccination.
Dr Mohanty said that the Odisha government will follow the central government guidelines. Healthcare and frontline workers will get priority in COVID-19 vaccination. It will be followed by vaccination of people who are above 60 years and those people who suffer from various comorbidities.