Hospital sweeper gets first COVID-19 vax shot as vaccination drive begins in Bihar

PATNA—The massive vaccination drive against COVID-19 kicked off in Bihar on Saturday with rare enthusiasm seen among the persons selected for vaccine shots.

The first shot was administered to Ram Babu, a cleaning staff with Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna while the second was administered to ambulance driver Amit Kumar from the same health institute.

The vaccination drive simultaneously began at 300 centres in the state. At each centre, 100 persons will be vaccinated daily.

However, the vaccination drive will not go on every day, officials sais. It will continue only four days a week—Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

On the first day, around 30,000 health workers are to be vaccinated. More than 4.64 lakh health workers will be vaccinated in the first phase, the health department has announced.

In the second phase, frontline workers will be vaccinated. They include police men and prison department, disaster management department, civil defence staffs and municipal employees.

“We have set the target to vaccinate 1 crore (10 million) health workers and 2 crore (20 million) frontline workers in the first phase,” Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey told the media after the vaccination drive began.

The Bihar cabinet had recently given its nod to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the entire population free of cost.