NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JAN 16
The coronavirus vaccine is completely safe and inoculation is the only way to overcome the pandemic, said Dr Naveen Thacker, a paediatrician who became the first recipient of vaccine jab in Gujarat on Saturday.
In a historic moment, CM Shri @vijayrupanibjp along with DyCM Shri @Nitinbhai_Patel started COVID-19 vaccination in the State from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and said that the landmark launch of #LargestVaccineDrive by PM Shri @narendramodi will define victory over Corona virus. pic.twitter.com/Z7OqnZFDji
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) January 16, 2021
For Jalpa Gandhi, a nurse at the Ahmedabad civil hospital who has been attending to coronavirus patients from day one, getting the shot meant relief from gnawing anxiety that she may catch the virus while at work.
Dr Thacker, a member of the state government’s task forces on coronavirus and mass COVID-19 vaccination, and Gandhi were administered Covishield vaccine at the civil hospital here. So were many other doctors and nurses.
માન. પ્રધાનમંત્રીશ્રી નરેન્દ્રભાઈ મોદીજીના વરદ્ હસ્તે વિડિયો કોન્ફરન્સના માધ્યમથી કોરોના રસીકરણના પ્રથમ તબક્કાનો શુભારંભ કરાવવામાં આવ્યો. #LargestVaccineDrive pic.twitter.com/O4Ittj3ZHm
— Nitin Patel (Modi ka Parivar) (@Nitinbhai_Patel) January 16, 2021
“As you can see, I have not felt any adverse effect even an hour after getting inoculated. I am blessed to be the first recipient…The vaccine is totally safe, effective, and we can defeat coronavirus only when all of us get vaccinated,” Dr Thacker said.
“This is the beginning of a final war,” he said, adding that misleading rumours have always dogged vaccines when they appeared two centuries ago, but one should not fall prey to them.
आज जब हमने वैक्सीन बना ली है, तब भी भारत की तरफ दुनिया आशा और उम्मीद की नजरों से देख रही है।
जैसे जैसे हमारा टीकाकरण अभियान आगे बढ़ेगा, दुनिया के अनेक देशों को हमारे अनुभव का लाभ मिलेगा। : आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी #LargestVaccineDrive pic.twitter.com/koJch0Zthp
— Vijay Rupani (Modi Ka Parivar) (@vijayrupanibjp) January 16, 2021
Nurse Jalpa Gandhi has been on what she calls “COVID- 19 duty” from March 22, 2020, when the first coronavirus patient in the state was admitted to the civil hospital.
“I wore PPE kits when attending to patients, but there was always this apprehension that I might get infected and would end up infecting my family members. This caused me a lot of anxiety.
“I feel relieved after vaccination,” she said.
A majority of around 50 nurses who were given the vaccine shot on the first day at the civil hospital were working in COVID-19 wards, she said.
Infection specialist Dr Atul Patel, another member of the state’s task force on COVID-19, said feeling apprehension is normal as the vaccine on coronavirus is new, but there is no reason to worry.
“We know that side effects among almost half of the beneficiaries (during trials) are very mild, like body pain and headache. Nearly 30 per cent may even get a fever. A fifth of the beneficiaries may even get joint and abdominal pain.
“But these side-effects are very mild and we should not worry too much about them as they can be easily resolved,” Dr Patel said.
“It is the most-safe and secure vaccine, which has passed through several trials and experiments,” said Dr Ketan Desai, a former president of the Medical Council of India who was also among the first to get inoculated here.
Of 100 health workers who were administered COVID-19 vaccine at the civil hospital, nearly half were doctors, including critical care specialist Dr Maharshi Desai, public health expert Dr Dileep Mavalankar, immunology expert Dr Sapan Pandya, and many doctors attached to the hospital itself.
Medical Superintendent of the civil hospital Dr J V Modi was also vaccinated.
A medical van driver from Rajkot, along with doctors, on Saturday became one of the first beneficiaries of COVID-19 vaccine in Gujarat on the first day of the inoculation drive.
The drive began at 161 centres in the state where the vaccine jabs were administered to health workers almost simultaneously.
In Ahmedabad civil hospital, the first doses of vaccine were given to doctors in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.
Medical Superintendents of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar civil hospitals will get the vaccine besides more than 16,000 health workers in the state during the day.
In one of the centres in Rajkot, Ashokbhai, who drives a medical van, became the first recipient of the vaccine.
“I am honoured that my name has been selected for the first dose of vaccine at this centre in Rajkot. I didn’t have any apprehension about getting this vaccine. Everyone should take it,” Ashok bhai told reporters.
Vaccines are being given across six centers in Rajkot.
Gujarat Immunisation Officer Dr Nayan Jani said the state Health department has identified 4.31 lakh health workers, such as doctors and nurses, for the first phase of the vaccine drive starting tomorrow.
“After health workers, 6.93 lakh frontline workers, such as police personnel, 1.05 crore citizens above the age of 50 and 2.75 lakh people under 50 with comorbidities will be covered under the vaccination drive,” he said.
He said vaccine shots will be administered to 100 health workers per centre every day.
“Beneficiaries will get an SMS through CO-WIN application about the address of the centre and other instructions,” said Jani.
Around 15,000 vaccinators have already been trained by the Health Department and the entire administration is fully prepared to roll out the drive in Gujarat, he added.
