Nair staff gives a jab to Dr Asha Singhal and her husband on the first day
Healthcare workers at Nair Hospital find time for cheer on Saturday after a year of high-stress work. Pics/Ashish Raje
After the Prime Minister addressed the nation for a nationwide launch of the COVID-19 vaccine, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Saturday launched the state-wide Coronavirus Vaccination Campaign at the COVID-19 Facilitation Center (BKC Jumbo Covid Center) run by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation at Bandra-Kurla Complex. According to information received from the BMC, 1,926 healthcare workers were vaccinated on the first day across 10 centres—nine run by the BMC and one run by the state. Of these, Rajawadi hospital at Ghatkopar saw the maximum turnout of more than 50 per cent of the registered beneficiaries. The BMC had listed 4,000 healthcare professionals for the first day of vaccination.
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Additional Municipal Commissioner, Suresh Kakani, said, “The response was satisfactory considering a late start and also the messages that were delivered late. But an almost 50 per cent response is a good one, considering all the apprehensions and doubts that were in the minds of the people.” A total of 40 vaccination booths had been set up in Mumbai and 1,39,500 doses of Covishield vaccine were made available to the BMC by the Serum Institute of India, Pune.
Meanwhile, those healthcare professionals who did not get a jab today, despite being registered, will have two more chances to report to the centre, but only after the entire 1.30 lakh names have been listed.
Nair’s oldest vaccine beneficiary
The first vaccine against COVID-19 at Nair Hospital was given to Dr Dilnaz Devadhvala, 71, of Masina Hospital. Dr Asha Singhal, 83, of Bombay Hospital, who arrived on a wheelchair, became the oldest beneficiary of the hospital’s vaccination drive on Saturday.
On Friday evening, Devadhvala was informed that she would be the first person to get the vaccine at Nair Hospital. “I am thankful to both central and state governments. I also thank our team at Masina Hospital for supporting me through the pandemic. Lastly, I would like to thank the staff at Nair Hospital for providing all the facilities during the vaccination drive,” Devadhvala said. Meanwhile, Singhal’s husband, who accompanied her to Nair Hospital, said, “Both of us have been called to get the vaccine. We are very happy about it.”
Meanwhile, there was less 50 percent turnout for vaccination at JJ Hospital. JJ administration had listed 107 health officials, out of which only 42 turned up on Saturday. When asked about the low count, Dr Ranjit Mankeshwar of JJ Hospital said, “Information about the drive was conveyed to the healthworkers slightly late, and therefore, there was a low count recorded on Saturday. I am sure the remaining beneficiaries will arrive for a vaccine on Sunday or Monday.”
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