With 'puja' and flowers, vaccination drive begins in MP

A sanitary worker was among the first beneficiaries to receive the COVID-19 vaccine shot in Madhya Pradesh where healthcare workers were welcomed with flowers at some centres while doctors performed a 'puja' at a temple in Gwalior, as the inoculation drive rolled out.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan thanked "corona warriors" on the occasion. Vaccination centres in Bhopal, Indore and Gwalior and at some other places were decorated with flowers and balloons. In Gwalior, doctors performed 'puja' at the temple of Lord Hanuman before the start of the vaccination drive. The drive is underway at 150 centres in Madhya Pradesh including at 12 centres in Bhopal.

As many as 4.17 lakh healthcare workers will be administered the vaccines in the first phase in the state, according to officials. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reached the vaccination centre at Hamidia Hospital. He also spoke with some beneficiaries who received the vaccine shots. The chief minister also listened to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address.

On the occasion, Chouhan thanked corona warriors for treating people when cases were at their peak. "In the first phase, health care workers would be administered this vaccine. Frontline workers will receive the vaccine in the second phase. All the precautions have been taken and persons receiving the vaccine are being kept under observation for half-an-hour," the chief minister said.

He urged the people to follow all the protocols related to the pandemic even after vaccination. A sanitary worker was administered COVID-19 vaccine in Hamidia Hospital, said Minister for Medical Education Vishwas Sarang. He said people didn't have any apprehensions about the vaccination. Minister for Water Resources Tulsiram Silawat reached Indore's Government MY Hospital and talked to people receiving the first dose of the vaccine.

In Jabalpur, Union minister Prahlad Patel was present when the vaccine was administered to the first person. The state has received 5,06,500 doses of Covishield vaccine so far. "In the first phase of the drive, 4.17 lakh persons will be administered the vaccines. Of them about 57,000 health care workers will receive the vaccines in the first week of the drive," Health Minister Prabhuram Choudhary said. In the second phase, about 55,000 healthcare workers will receive the vaccine, he said.