Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today inaugurated the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the state from Indira Gandhi Medical College here.

He said that in the first phase of the Covid vaccination in HP, 93000 doses would be administered to the state’s frontline “corona warriors” including healthcare workers.

He said that today 2,529 health care workers were being administered dose through 27 identified sites in the State. He said that about 74500 health workers would be vaccinated and each beneficiary would be provided two doses and second dose would be administered after interval of 28 days.

Thakur said that the state government had constituted State Level Steering Committee, State Task Force, District Task Force and Block Task Force to monitor the administration of vaccination of Covid- 19.

He said that State Vaccination Store has been set up at Shimla while Regional vaccine store has been established at Mandi and Dharamshala. He said that District Vaccine Stores had been set up in all the 12 districts of the state besides 386 cold chain points in the State.

Thakur said that Auto Disable (AD) syringes in sufficient quantity as per beneficiary has also been received by the State and has been distributed to the districts and additional stock of 0.5 ml AD syringes had been stored at State Vaccine Store, Parimahal, Shimla, Regional Vaccine Store, Mandi and Regional Vaccine Store Dharamshala to meet out any situation.

The chief minister said that Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) management training had been given to the session site vaccinators for establishing referral mechanism and report on COWIN app. He said that AEFI Committees at State and District level had also been notified with additional members of Pulmonologist and Medicine Specialists for casualty assessment of AEFI cases.

Thakur said that to ensure the success of the vaccination campaign dry run had also been organised at various identified sites. He also urged the people of the State to ensure that all precautions are maintained despite having administered Covid 19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, Governor Bandaru Dattatraya has expressed contentment over the coronavirus vaccination drive launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today and termed it as a historical moment. He said that it was world’s largest vaccination drive launched in India, which was a ray of hope in fighting against this pandemic.

The Governor said that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the lives of the people and can never be forgotten. He also expressed happiness that in Himachal Pradesh, Coronavirus Vaccination Program has been started along with the country, for which the State Government has made elaborate arrangements.

He appealed to the people to participate and use the vaccine to protect themselves from the virus.

He said that those who have not been able to be part of vaccination campaign in the initial phase, must follow all instructions and guidelines like wearing mask, physical distancing and cleanliness as followed earlier.

He also urged the people who have been vaccinated to continue maintaining precautions from Covid-19. He also appealed the people to practice yoga or exercise and take nutritious diet to maintain their immunity.