Covid-19 Vaccine India Update: Gujarat receives first shipment of Covishield vaccine

Gujarat Covid-19 Vaccination Update: The first shipment for Covid-19 vaccines has arrived at Ahmedabad airport on Tuesday. Nitin Patel, the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat who also heads the health department was present at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to receive the shipment.

Gujarat: The first consignment of the #COVID19 vaccine arrives at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport

Gujarat Deputy CM Nitin Patel present at the airport pic.twitter.com/3y3RP0SxdQ

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2021

Patel talking to IE informed that PM Narendra Modi has intimated that once the immunization of nearly 50 to 60 per cent of the healthcare and frontline workers is complete in the initial phases of the vaccination drive, he will conduct a meeting with CMs of all states to access the outcomes and devise a further plan of action. The state health minister assured that the Centre will be bearing the expenses of vaccinating nearly three crore frontline workers across the country as told by Narendra Modi.

The Deputy CM further talking about Gujarat’s preparedness in the vaccination drive said nearly 25,000 vaccine booths have been prepared. On January 16, the PM will talk with doctors and paramedics assigned duties at 287 booths — most of them in Ahmedabad and Rajkot — and launch the vaccination drive. The states also had a video-conferencing with the central ministry of health to streamline supply and distribution of vaccine doses.

Meanwhile, the oral polio drive that was expected to commence on January 17 has been postponed, a health department official informed. Notification on the same will be released soon.

To assist domestic and international travellers, Neuberg Supratech, a private diagnostic laboratory has opened an RT-PCR testing booth at the Ahmedabad airport. The executive director of Supratech Neuberg Dr Sandip Shah said that the facility will work round-the-clock to provide with Covid-19 test results to travellers within six to eight hours of submitting a sample.

The Union government has placed an order of 11 million doses with Serum Institute’s Covishield vaccine, each dose costing Rs 210, including GST, reported PTI. The doses will be shipped to 60 consignee points from where they will be distributed to various distribution centres across India.