Punjab joined the rest of the country in the roll-out ofthe Covid vaccine on Saturday morning, with five Health Care Workers (HCWs)getting the jab in the presence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, whovirtually kicked off the process to inoculate 1.74 lakh HCWs in the firstphase.
Dr. Sandeep Singh, Dr. Charan Kamal, Dr. Dimple DhaliwalSrivastva, Computer Operator Asha Yadav and Class IV employee Surjit Singh wereadministered the first dose of Covishield vaccine in the presence of the ChiefMinister at Civil Hospital Phase-6. Captain Amarinder Singh also giftedsaplings to these five healthcare workers, posted at Civil Hospital, Mohali, asa token of appreciation.
Interacting with media persons, the Chief Minister saidit was his desire to get vaccinated first but in accordance with the directivesof the Government of India only HCWs could be covered in the first phase."I would definitely get myself vaccinated in the next phase,"revealed Captain Amarinder Singh.
He said that the vaccine would be administered to theHCWs first, followed by the army and police personnel, in line with theguidelines of the Government of India. He disclosed that he had written to thePrime Minister for permission for free distribution amongst the peoplebelonging to the lower income Groups.
In response to a query on vaccine safety, the ChiefMinister said the vaccine would not have been approved unless the scientistswere sure of its safety. He noted that Covid vaccines around the world had beentaken by many eminent personalities, including Queen Elizabeth of UK who is 93and her husband who is 99, without any side effects.
Earlier, in his address at the Kisan Vikas Chamber, theChief Minister said that he was delighted to announce the state-wide launch ofthe Covid vaccine, while appealing to the people to continue to wear masks andobserve all social distancing and other safety norms. Noting that all therestrictions imposed during lockdown, curfew and thereafter had been aimed atdelaying the peak of the pandemic so that the vaccine could be available, theChief Minister thanked the people for their patience and cooperation duringthis difficult phase.
The Chief Minister lauded the healthcare workers andothers responsible for keeping the spread of the pandemic in check in thestate, where the number of daily cases had come down from the peak of 3700 to242. The target was to bring them down to zero, he said, asserting that hisgovernment would continue its endeavor to safeguard the interests of allPunjabis.
Recalling India’s nearly year-long ordeal, Captain AmarinderSingh said that the first Covid case in the country was reported from Kerala onJanuary 30, 2020, while the first instance of COVID-19 came to notice in Punjabon 5th March, 2020 with a travel history of Italy. Since then, since then inPunjab about 1.2 crore persons have been screened for symptoms and over 41 lakhpersons have been tested so far, he said, adding that nearly, 1.7 lakh personshave been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Chief Minister pointed out that Punjab was the firstState to Impose lockdown and curfew, besides ensuring home delivery of fooditems and medicines during curfew. He cited the various measures undertaken aspart of the state’s ‘Mission Fateh’ to combat the pandemic.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu thankedthe Chief Minister for vigorously pursuing with the Centre for procurement ofthe Vaccine. He said that all arrangements had been put in place for smoothvaccination, including online portal for registration. In the initial stage, asmany as 408 vaccination teams had been constituted and 59 teams were working toinoculate the HCWs, he added. Apart from these, Sidhu said that 729 Cold Chainpoints had been established in the State for adequate storage of vials at thedesired temperature.
Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Hussan Lalsaid the vaccines had been authorized for restricted emergency use in thecountry. 3000 Central Health Care Workers, 9000 for Defence Health Care Workersand 1.93 Lakh for State Health Care Workers, both in Government and PrivateHealth Care Facilities, would be inoculated in the first phase, he added.
In his address, PPCC President Sunil Jakhar said that nostate or Central government could afford privatization in the core sectors ofdefence, food and health. The private sector could compliment services in thesesectors to some extent but could not be solely relied upon them., he said.