Altogether 2,873 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and support staff, were administered COVID19 vaccine Covishield across 11 districts in Nagaland till date.

This was confirmed by the state immunisation officer and spokesperson for Covid19 vaccination, Dr Ritu Thurr on Wednesday.

Thurr said the vaccination was conducted in 36 selected sites, including private hospitals.

Healthcare workers from both public and private facilities were vaccinated without any reported adverse effects, he said.

In Dimapur, 657 health care workers were inoculated, Mokokchung (335), Wokha (321), Zunheboto (310), Mon (258), Phek (247), Peren (242), Kohima (201), Tuensang (128), Longleng (114) and Kiphire (60) till date.

Thurr said all the vaccinated healthcare workers will receive the subsequent second dose of the vaccine after 28 days.

He said their COVID19 appropriate behaviours are strictly being monitored.

The first phase of vaccination is reserved only for pre-registered healthcare workers as they are at the highest risk of infection and also to reduce transmission to patients while taking care for them.

All vaccination sites have been entered in CoWIN portal and all the beneficiaries are verified with photo identity card before receiving the vaccine.

Thurr said the Covishield vaccine has undergone all pre-clinical and clinical trials and is safe for use in the general population.

He urged the people to support this vaccination drive as “vaccines are the safest way for us to go back to our normal lives”.

He also appealed to them to follow all COVID19 safety measures.

Around 12,000 healthcare workers in the state have been targeted to be vaccinated.

The first batch of 26,500 doses of Covishield vaccine for the first phase of vaccination arrived in the state on January 14.

Bhadra Gogoi is Northeast Now Correspondent in Nagaland. He can be reached at: [email protected]