Over 13K get Covid jabs; fall in number of beneficiaries on Friday in Delhi

Over 13,000 beneficiaries received anti-COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, a significant fall from the number of people who had got the shots a day before, according to data shared by officials.

Over 3.6 lakh beneficiaries have received the vaccine till date in Delhi since the start of the inoculation drive a month ago, with more than 18,900 people receiving jabs on Thursday.

Out of the total tally, more than 1.46 lakh are healthcare workers and over 2.2 lakh are frontline workers, as per the data.

Coronavirus vaccine shots were administered to more than 13,320 beneficiaries in Delhi on Friday. Four minor cases of AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) were reported, the officials said.

On Friday, 2,486 healthcare workers got their second dose, as the inoculation drive picked up pace, according to the data.

"Four minor cases of AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) were reported," an official said.

Till date,1,46,827 healthcare workers have been vaccinated and 2,20,694 frontline workers also received vaccine, as per the data shared by the officials.

Frontline workers include police personnel, civil defence staff, sanitation workers, among others.

The vaccination drive, started on January 16, has picked up pace in the last one week.

Under the nationwide mega vaccination drive launched on January 16, a total of 4,319 (53 per cent) health workers against a target of 8,117 were administered the shots at 81 centres across the city on day one.

As per doctors, the second dose is to be given to a beneficiary after a gap of 28 days.

On February 13, a total of 13,768 beneficiaries received vaccine shots and second dose began to given to healthcare workers who had received the first jab 28 days ago.

On the second scheduled day after the roll-out of the exercise on January 16, the figures had stood at 3,598 (44 per cent of the target). The sharp fall had come after one severe and 50 minor adverse effect cases were reported, on the opening day of the vaccination drive.

The count on third scheduled day was much higher, at 4,936 (48 per cent).

Delhi recorded 256 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest number of single-day incidences in February, while one fresh fatality pushed the death toll to 10,906, according to data shared by the city health department.

This is the third successive day when daily cases count have stood at 200-mark or beyond.

Just as the Delhi government had asserted that the coronavirus pandemic had been "defeated" in the national capital, cases are on the rise again dramatically, as doctors on Friday warned that the numbers could go up in the coming months and urged people to continue to wear masks and follow COVID-19 safety norms.