By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 16: State Health Minister AL Hek, on Tuesday, informed that 99.9 per cent of the beneficiaries have been inoculated during the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Meghalaya.
“We have been able to achieve the target almost… and 99.9 per cent have been vaccinated,” Hek said.
Asked if there was any complaint of reaction after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine shots, the health minister said, “There are just minor complaints of one or two having fever but no major ones.”
On the second phase of the vaccination drive, he said, “Registration is going on at various sub-centres, community health centres and public health centres for senior citizens.”
To a query on the targeted number of people to be vaccinated in the second phase, Hek said, “We cannot tell the exact number of people that we are targeting as the registration has just started.”
The Meghalaya government had targeted vaccination of 16,000 health workers out of the 27,000 identified in the first phase.
The other half was vaccinated in the second part of the first phase vaccination drive.
After vaccination of health workers, the state government will focus on inoculating frontline workers, municipal workers, police and people working in the field of disaster management.
In the third phase of vaccination, people above 50 years of age and those with co-morbidities will be covered.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive in the state started along with the entire country on January 16, with health workers being administered the first dose of Covishield vaccine.
Top SWKH officials take jabs
From Our Correspondent
MAWKYRWAT, Feb 16: South West Khasi Hills, which as per records has one of the lowest turnouts in terms of people turning up for taking a shot of the COVID-19 vaccines, has now set an example with two of its top officials — Deputy Commissioner, C Kharkongor, and Superintendent of Police, Maxwell B Syiem — coming forward for inoculation in a bid to allay fears of those refraining from the vaccination drive.
Calling upon the health workers and frontliners in the district to come forward to receive jabs, an elated DC said, “Today I feel liberated”.
Meanwhile, speaking about the district’s performance in the vaccination drive, (Contd on P-4)