8948 people vaccinated in Nagaland: Zero instances of serious side effects

So far, 8,948 people have received Covid-19 vaccine in Nagaland. Till date, there has been zero instances of people who have suffered serious medical side effects apart from mild cases of fever and pain in the injected area “which is normal for all vaccines and not just the Covid-19 vaccine, according to State Immunization Officer UIP, Dr. Ritu Thurr, who presented a detailed report on the progress of the first and second phase of the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive during the Nagaland State Task Force review meeting on Thursday in Kohima.

The meeting was held to assess the progress of the first and second phase of the Covid-19 Vaccination drive in the State at the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Kohima. The meeting was chaired by Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Amardeep Singh Bhatia.

State Immunization Officer UIP, Dr. Ritu Thurr presented a detailed report on the progress of the first and second phase of the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive which is scheduled to conclude in nine days time. 

According to an official report, several issues related to the low overall coverage percentage in the State were brought out and discussed in detail. It may be noted that till date only 31 percent of the 21549 registered healthcare workers have been vaccinated in the first phase while just a mere five percent of the 51718 registered frontline workers have been vaccinated in the second phase. The low coverage percentage can be attributed greatly due to the reluctance of a majority of the health care workers as well as the frontline workers to take the vaccine for fear of side effects. It may also be mentioned that since the vaccine can only be administered to those that volunteer themselves and hence the department is working hard to sensitize the people regarding the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine, the report added. 

The State Task Force also discussed in detail the steps required to be undertaken to tackle the problem of the low coverage percentage and to make sure that the number of vaccines administered increases rapidly in the remaining nine days before the conclusion of phase one and two of the Covid19 vaccination drive. 

Many other departments under the Government of Nagaland namely the Social Welfare department, Rural Development and Directorate of Information and Public Relations promised to aid the Department of Health and Family Welfare in sensitizing the general public regarding the safety of the vaccine and also provide logistical support as and when the need arises to ensure that a majority if not all of the healthcare workers and frontline workers receives the vaccine. Several issues and problems faced by the different district immunization officers regarding the vaccination drive in their respective districts were also discussed at length during the meeting and the State Task Force collectively vowed to address the issues cited at the earliest and with utmost urgency.