BHUBANESWAR: With 29,032 people getting jabs on Sunday, Odisha crossed the milestone of vaccinating one crore persons with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. While 1,22,36,483 doses have been administered in the State, 22,19,853 have been fully vaccinated and 1,00,16,630 got at least a single dose.
The State government has planned 1,730 sessions across all districts with an aim to administer more than 3.5 lakh doses of vaccine on Monday. The Covid-19 vaccination had slowed down in the State due to a shortage of adequate doses of Covishield. After maintaining an average of 2.5 lakh doses for five days, the number of inoculations had dropped to below 50,000 a day.
However, as anticipated, the drive is set to pick up momentum from this week following the arrival of over 10 lakh doses of vaccine in the last couple of days. Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra appreciated the dedicated healthcare workers for achieving the milestone.
“We are steadily moving towards universal vaccination coverage for our eligible population. We expect a minimum of three lakh vaccinations per day and any number more will help us achieve the target soon if adequate doses of vaccine are provided as per requirement,” he said.
The State has a stock of 9.52 lakh doses of Covishield and 3.91 lakh doses of Covaxin. The Health Department has decided to introduce Covaxin for the 18-44 age group in Ganjam district in the wake of Covishield shortage.