Shot in the arm, UT gets 12K doses

In first phase of vaccination drive, Covishield to be administered to 5,500 health care workers in city

Will have to strategise inoculation: DHS

BQ: “We will have to strategise the administration of vaccine as the doses received are limited. For each dose administered to a beneficiary, a subsequent dose will be stored for administration after 28 days.”

Dr Amandeep Kaur Kang, Director, Health Services, UT

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 12

The UT Health Department received 12,000 doses of Covishield, a Covid vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India, at the city airport today.

The vaccine has been transported in the form of 10-dose vials. The UT has received 1,200 vials. The vaccine can be stored at a temperature of 2°C–8°C and has to be taken in two doses with intramuscular injections at a gap of 28 days.

Officials said the vaccines received today would be sufficient to inoculate around 5,500 health care workers. A total of 8,830 workers, including private health care providers, have been registered for vaccination in the UT.

An official statement of the UT Health Department read, “The vaccine vials have been kept in a walk-in cooler. The storage area will be guarded by security personnel round the clock.”

Dr Amandeep Kaur Kang, Director, Health Services, UT, said, “We will have to strategise the administration of vaccine as the doses received are limited. For each dose administered to a beneficiary, a subsequent dose will be stored for administration after 28 days.”

The vaccine was received by Dr VK Nagpal, Medical Superintendent-cum-Joint Director, UT Health Department, at the Chandigarh airport. The vaccine was transported in a dedicated vaccine van escorted by a police vehicle.

The first phase of the vaccination drive will start in the city on January 16.

In two different dosing regimens, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine showed the efficacy of 90 per cent and 62 per cent. In participants who had received two full doses at least one month apart, the vaccine efficacy was 62 per cent, and in participants who received a low dose followed by a full dose, efficacy was 90 per cent.