Post day 3, COVID-vaccinated more than double active cases

After three days of COVID-19 vaccine roll out, two deaths, 580 AEFIs reported, of which seven needed hospitalisation

According to the latest data from the health ministry, 2,23,669 people were vaccinated across 3,930 sessions in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative total of people vaccinated to 4,54,049 (across 7,860 sessions conducted so far).

With India’s total detected active caseload dropping to 2 lakh (2,00,528) today, the total number of people vaccinated is more than double the number of active cases.

As per data collated on January 18, after three days of vaccination, 580 cases of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFIs) were reported. Out of these, seven required hospitalisation. Of the three cases reported from Delhi, two have been discharged whereas one case with reporting fainting was under observation at Max Hospital, Patparganj.  The reported case of AEFI in Uttarakhand was reportedly stable and under observation at AIIMS, Rishikesh.  In Chhattisgarh, one person was under observation at the Govt. Medical College, Rajnandgaon. Of the two cases of AEFI in Karnataka, one was under observation at District Hospital, Chitradurga and the second person under observation at General Hospital, Challakere, Chitradurga.

Of the two deaths reported, the demise of the 52-year-old male from Moradabad, UP, who was vaccinated on January 16 and died on January 17 evening, was deemed as not related to vaccination as per the post-mortem report. Death was caused due to cardiopulmonary disease.

The second death was a 43-year-old male, resident of Bellary, Karnataka. He was vaccinated on January 16, 2021 and died on January 18. The cause of death is anterior wall infarction with cardiopulmonary failure. The post-mortem was scheduled yesterday January 18 at Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, Karnataka.

Karnataka tops the number of beneficiaries vaccinated (66,392), followed by Andhra Pradesh (46,680) and Odisha (46,506).

The country has recorded less than 140 fatalities (137 fatalities) in the last 24 hours after approximately 8 months. Eight states and UTs have reported 72.99 per cent of the total fatalities in the last 24 hours, with Maharashtra in the lead with 35 deaths, followed by Kerala (17) and West Bengal (10 new deaths).

71.76 per cent of the new cases are from six states and UTs, led by Kerala (daily new cases at 3,346), followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with 1,924 and 551 new cases, respectively.

Aster DM Healthcare part of COVID-19 vaccination

Meanwhile, private hospitals that are part of the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination roll out started inoculating the listed beneficiaries, often led by senior representatives of the  hospitals.

After receiving his firs dose at Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, Dr Harish Pillai, CEO, Aster India, Aster DM Healthcare expressed his gratitude to the scientists and researchers who have worked relentlessly to make this moment possible and the Government for the meticulous planning of the ‘world’s largest vaccination drive’.
He emphasised, “The vaccines have gone through several safety trials and are introduced only after the clearance from regulatory bodies. Therefore, even though the administration of the vaccine is voluntary, we must not be hesitant in receiving the vaccine. I also, want to emphasise though the vaccine is undoubtedly a significant step, we must continue to maintain COVID-19 protocols like wearing masks, handwashing, and social-distancing”.

As per a release from the hospital, the vaccination drive is being conducted at Aster Medcity, Kochi, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru and Aster RV Hospital, Bengaluru respectively. The hospital will store the vaccine in its existing cold storage facility. Medcity is the designated hospital for vaccine storage for the district and can store up to 1 lakh vaccines, as per the statement. At present, the end-to-end vaccination drive is supervised by Government authorities.

A team of five members is constituted to manage 100 people or one booth. The government is to issue a notification on the number of booths and days for each hospital. All the five members are Aster hospital employees and all are trained by Government doctors.