CCpur braces for historic COVID shots
Source: The Sangai Express

CCpur, January 15 2021: Even as Covid-19 cases keep mounting - albeit in single digit - Churachandpur's health officials are all set to receive and administer the first hundred shots of Covid vaccine allocated at the District Hospital tomorrow.

TA and Hills Minister Vungzagin Valte will formally launch the historic Covid vaccination drive, concurrently with the Prime Minister at New Delhi and the Chief Minister at Imphal.

Churachandpur MLA V Hangkhanlian and Singngat MLA Ginsuanhau are also set to grace the historic event that is scheduled inside the Churachandpur District Hospital.

In an effort to assuage any apprehension on the vaccine's safety, the DFWO Churachandpur Dr Paulunthang the point man in supervising the exercise along with the Chief Medical Officer Dr VC Pau Tonsing and the Medical Superintendent District Hospital Churachandpur Dr Vanlalkungi today declared before the press that they will take the first three shots themselves.

CCpur braces for historic COVID shots

With 100 shots earmarked for each vaccination centre, the district hospital here, which is one of the 10 locations identified to administer the Covid vaccine in the State, will begin the inoculation exercise with health workers.

It will take about four days to cover the first group of 318 health workers set to receive the shot at the hospital.

54 Central health workers will receive their share of vaccines at other centres in due course.

A total of 3389 health workers and over 4700 frontline workers have already been identified to receive the vaccine before the exercise was expanded to persons with comorbid and elderly.

The CMO while addressing the press today said 10 locations in the district, Sagang, Singngat, Saikot, Henglep, Behiang, Sinzawl, and the district hospital have been identified as session sites for administering Covid vaccine in the district.

The DFWO while maintaining that all preparation has been set in place claimed that 4 vaccination officers and one vaccinator will be on duty along with a specialist doctor to administer the shots tomorrow.

People receiving the vaccine will be put under observation for 30 minutes, he said adding 5 observation rooms have already been identified for the same.

Dr C Sreedhar, WHO consultant who was monitoring the vaccination exercise in Churachandpur and Pherzawl also said the preparation so far is satisfactory and looks forward to embarking on the mission tomorrow.

It may be noted that Churachandpur has so far witnessed 2011 covid cases in total with 44 deaths.

Today 5 new cases have been detected at different centres and took the number of active cases to 49 .

Incidentally, people with Covid-19 and those having symptoms of the contagion will not be given the vaccine.

The vaccine to be administered this time is Covishield, the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) .

The Covishield vaccination course consists of two separate doses of 0.5 ml each.

The second dose should be administered between 4 and 6 weeks after the first dose, 28 days is what has been prescribed.

It is recommended that individuals who receive the first dose of Covishiled should complete the vaccination course with the second one.

As such Churachandpur which is receiving 210 vials, approximately 2100 shots has reserved the same amount of vaccine for the second dose.