VASCO
As the nationwide launch of the Covid vaccine began on Saturday, 70 staff and health workers at the Chicalim Sub District Hospital (SDH) were among the first batch to receive the vaccine in the State.
Venkatesh Dhobi, a Multi Tasking Staff at Chicalim SDH was the first person in Mormugao to get vaccinated at the hospital in the presence of Deputy Collector Sachin Desai, Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida, Chicalim SDH Health Officer Dr Anil Umbraskar, ENT Specialist Dr Vivek Pillai and other staff.
Dr Vivek Pillai of Chicalim SDH said the drive to vaccinate the 70 healthcare workers went on till evening and confirmed there was no reaction or adverse effect of the vaccine.
“We are glad there have been no adverse effects and reactions to the vaccine and 70 people getting vaccinated on the launch day is a good turnout,” said Dr Pillai.
Dr Pillai said the beneficiaries were made to register at the counter and after verification through the Covid app, then received the vaccine.
“The beneficiaries were made to wait for half an hour for observation to check for any adverse reaction like fever and other symptoms. If they were fine, we allowed them to go.”
“The vaccination drive is a great step by the government. As of now, Covid cases have drastically declined in Vasco and the positivity rate has come down from 38 percent to 16 percent and we will try to get it less than 5 percent in a few months,” said Dr Pillai.
Chicalim SDH Health Officer Dr Anil Umbraskar told reporters that the vaccination drive was conducted as per instructions of the Directorate of Health Services.
“We identified a place to avoid overcrowding and we also have a separate room for observation of persons after vaccination. The function went smoothly on the launch day,” said Dr Umbraskar.
Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida said he was glad that health workers are being given the first round of vaccinations.
Deputy Collector Sachin Desai said the vaccination programme was smoothly conducted at the Chicalim SDH.
