COVID-19 vaccination drive: Delhi-NCR sees a high turnout; here is how Day 1, Phase 2 fared

With the second phase of Coronavirus vaccination drive kicking off for the general population, Delhi-NCR regions- Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad have seen a high turnout of people opting for vaccines. On Monday, many people were administered with Coronavirus vaccines falling in the two priority groups. Citing Gurgaon health department officials, a report by The IE noted that of the total 33 centres, 10 were private hospitals while others were government hospitals or health centres. Dr Virender Yadav, Chief Medical Officer of Gurgaon said that a target of 40 vaccines per centre have been kept under the phase 2 of the vaccination. The capacity of vaccine administration is of 60 vaccines however, the additional have been kept for second doses of healthcare workers.

It is to note that vaccinations start at noon and the officials witnessed turnout exceeding their anticipation. Since Monday (March 1), COVID-19 portal has been operational and many are also opting for on-the-spot registration. In the next few days, officials are also expecting advance registrations as people are now allowed to choose their date or time of their vaccination. While the vaccination process has so far been smooth, the officials believe that estimating targets for the next few days will not be easy to ascertain.

For Noida and Ghaziabad regions, some people also made complaints regarding the portal not working properly. These issues are expected to be resolved in the coming days. Dr Neeraj Tyagi, District Immunisation Officer, Gautam Buddh Nagar, according to the report said, despite difficulty in online format of registrations and many people not well-oriented with the process, the overall response of people coming for vaccination was good. In Noida, vaccines are being given at the District Hospital at Sector 30, SJM Hospital in Sector 63 and GIMS in Greater Noida. In Ghaziabad, people can receive vaccine jabs at Yashoda Hospital, District Women and the District Combined Hospital.

Meanwhile in Delhi, the second phase of vaccination is being conducted at 56 government hospitals along with 136 private facilities.