Delhi: Over 81,000 people vaccinated by Monday

Over 81,000 beneficiaries received shots of COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, while the Delhi government issued an order to run inoculation centres at all its hospitals round-the-clock.

The third phase of the vaccination drive will span 65 lakh people aged above 45 in the national capital. By 6 PM, at least 81,545 people had received jabs, a senior official of the Delhi health department said.

Final figures at 9 PM were not immediately available. Out of these, 70,935 people got their first jabs while second doses were administered to 10,610 people, while 46,676 beneficiaries in the age group of 45-59 received shots, the official said.

Three cases of minor adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) were reported, he said. The inoculation drive is taking place at a time when coronavirus cases have again mounted in the last few weeks.

In the first phase, starting January 16, over 3.6 lakh beneficiaries comprising healthcare workers and frontline workers, were vaccinated in Delhi. Jabs were given to persons aged 60 and above, and those in 45-59 age bracket with comorbidities in the second phase.

"In the third phase, people aged 45 and above as on January 1, 2022 are eligible for vaccination, irrespective of their co-morbidity status," a senior government officer earlier said.

Seeking to accelerate the pace of vaccination against COVID-19, authorities on Monday ordered that one-third of session sites at all Delhi government hospitals will run round-the-clock from Tuesday onwards. The vaccination centres, both at government and private facilities, operate from 9 am to 9 pm.

The Delhi government has 34 hospitals, which have multiple sessions sites. One-third of all these sites will run for 24 hours a day now. Some of the facilities like the LNJP Hospital, is already operating round-the-clock, officials said.

The third phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive will span 192 health facilities, including 136 private hospitals in the national capital.

The vaccines are being administered free of cost at government hospitals and health centres, while up to Rs 250 per dose will be charged at private health facilities. At some vaccination centres, a rush of beneficiaries was witnessed, but at many other sites the response was moderate.

On Wednesday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that 65 lakh eligible beneficiaries (aged above 45) will be given coronavirus vaccine at 500 sites, starting Thursday.

"We have enough vaccines available. The number of eligible beneficiaries is quite large. We will make efforts to complete the inoculation as soon as possible," he had said.

People eligible for vaccination also have to carry their photo identity cards, including Aadhaar card and voter card.  The city has seen a surge in case in the last few weeks.

Delhi recorded 3,548 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Monday, while 15 more people died due to the coronavirus infection, taking the death toll to 11,096, according to the city Health Department. The positivity rate also mounted to 5.54, amid a massive surge in cases.

As Delhi is reeling under the "fourth wave" of the coronavirus pandemic, testing capacity has been ramped up and micro-containment zones being designated in areas from where two or more cases are getting reported, Health Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters on Monday.