Lucknow: City of Nawabs starts Covid-19 vaccination drive with enthusiasm

Amar Bahadur, a junior assistant at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU), which is among the largest medical varsities in Asia, felt a sense of pride at being the first recipient of the Covid-19 vaccine at the KGMU Centre this morning.

KGMU is among the 12 vaccination centres set up in Lucknow to inoculate 1,200 health workers, including doctors, on Saturday, Day One of the mega drive.

“I felt no fear or nervousness about the vaccine. The vaccination will drive away the fear of Covid-19 among the people…it will definitely subdue the pandemic,” Bahadur said after coming out of the post-vaccination observation chamber at the KGMU. He also flaunted the Covid-19 vaccination card that mentioned the second dose would be administered to him on February 15, 2021.

Despite the cold climate, Lucknow, which is referred to as the ‘City of Nawabs’, exhibited remarkable enthusiasm to participate in the Covid-19 vaccination drive that rolled out across India after the address to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, to instill confidence among the fellow health workers, the heads/directors of the 12 medical institutions and hospitals in the city were among the first persons to be administered the jab.

The 12 centres set up for the Covid-19 vaccination in Lucknow comprised, KGMU, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS), Balrampur Hospital, Veerangana Avantibai Hospital, Era’s Medical College, Sahara Hospital, Medanta Hospital and TS Mishra Medical College, apart from two community health Centres on the city outskirts.

Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath visited the Balrampur Hospital for the first hand information about the ongoing vaccination drive. He noted the country would continue to march forward with a positive approach under his leadership.

On Friday, the vials of Covid-19 vaccines were transported from the designated store house in Aishbagh area to the cold chain points in the vicinity of the 12 vaccination centres. The health workers and doctors were also mandated to report to their assigned centre before 0900 hrs for the vaccination duty.

The vaccination drive will continue till 1700 hrs to ensure that all the persons scheduled for the jab are administered the first dose. The second dose of the vaccine would be given after 28 days.

The authorities have estimated to vaccinate 18,000 people on a daily basis in Lucknow in the coming days when all the nearly 60 vaccination centres become operational in due course.

Besides, reports of successful vaccination drive have also emerged from other major cities in Uttar Pradesh.