Goa govt starts giving second dose of COVID-19 vaccine

The Goa government on Saturday started administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to the healthcare workers in the state, an official said. Those healthcare workers who had taken the first dose of the vaccine 28 days ago were given the second shot on Saturday, state immunisation officer Dr Rajendra Borkar said.

Ranganath Bhojje, a healthcare worker from Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), near here was the first person to get the vaccine shot on January 16, when the nationwide vaccination programme had started. He was again the first person to get the second dose of the vaccine, the official said. Those who received the second dose of the vaccine will develop immunity against the infection after 14 days, he said.

Out of the total number of 19,952 healthcare workers in the state, 10,341 have received their first dose so far, while the remaining will receive it by February 20, Dr Borkar said. The state has covered 52 per cent of the healthcare workers in the vaccine drive so far, Dr Borkar said.

"Initially, we had set the deadline of February 12 to cover all healthcare workers, but now it has been extended to February 20 to ensure maximum coverage," he said. Earlier this week, the state government also began vaccinating COVID-19 frontline warriors, including police personnel, home guards, civic employees, staffers of revenue and panchayat departments, the official added.