PANAJI
The Health Department has administered a total of 73,949 doses of Covid vaccine from January 16 to March 15. Till date, 11,287 persons in the State have been fully vaccinated after receiving both the mandated doses.
In a reply tabled before the House on Tuesday, Health Minister provided these details and also informed that the State has recorded 511 Adverse Effects Following Immunization (AEFIs) including one suspected death.
Out of the 73,949 doses administered till date, 67,412 were administered in government medical institutions. The beneficiaries include 21,018 Health Care Workers (HCWs), 12,798 Front Line Workers (FLWs), 3,964 persons between 45 and 59 years with comorbidities and 29,632 persons above the age of 60.
On the other hand, 6,537 doses were administered in private medical hospitals of which 4246 doses were paid.
The vaccination is provided free of cost in government setups while fee is collected only from those who have been vaccinated in private hospitals from March 1 onwards. Rs 5.61 lakh have been collected as fees by private hospitals as on March 16 which was utilized in purchasing 374 vials of the vaccine form the government.
In a separate reply, the health minister disclosed that the Government of India has supplied 1,60,570 free doses of Covishield vaccine, which is manufactured by Serum Institute of India, to Goa which.
The Health Minister further divulged that as on March 11, the state’s Health Department has recorded 511 AEFIs of which 506 are minor, three were serious and two were severe.
One suspected death which was recorded was that of a 41 year-old male Health Care Worker who was administered the first dose of the vaccine on February 2, 2021 at Primary Health Centre Balli and was admitted at Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim on February 16 with fever, cough and other issues. He passed away on February 18.
The cause of death has been recorded as alcoholic dependent syndrome with diabetes, hypertension and bilateral pneumonia with congestive cardiac failure and the death has not been attributed to vaccination.
The other two serious cases were treated at GMCH and South Goa District Hospital and were discharged upon recovery.
He said that these matters were discussed during the causality assessment meeting of the State Technical Committee for AEFI and it was concluded that with the exception of one serious AEFI, wherein the person developed sensory motor demyelination and was discharged upon treatment at GMC, rest of the cases, including the death, were not due to the vaccination. However, classification from the National AEFI committee is awaited.
Meanwhile, it was also confirmed that two persons including one Health Care Worker and a Front Line Worker tested positive for Covid-19 after receiving the first dose of the vaccine and have since recovered.
