India's mammoth vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) was successful, the Union health ministry said on Saturday, with 191,181 people given the shot during the first day of the programme. An official of the health ministry said no one hospitalised after being given the Covid-19 vaccine. There were 16,755 personnel involved in the vaccination drive across India at 3,351 sessions held across the country with both the vaccines during the drive, the official said. Covishield, the Oxford University-AstraZenexa shot being manufactured by Serum Institute of India, was supplied to all states and Union territories and Bharat Biotech's Covasin was sent to 12 states, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched one of the world’s largest, most ambitious vaccination drives against the novel coronavirus pandemic via video conferencing at 10:30 am and sanitation workers were among the first to receive the first vaccine shot in most states. The COVID-19 vaccination drive went smooth by far except reports of delay in uploading beneficiary data at certain sites and reports of some healthcare workers getting vaccinated despite not being scheduled for the first vaccination session.Healthcare and frontline workers, who are the first in line to be vaccinated in the country, are being administered either Serum Institute’s Covishield or Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin – the two coronavirus vaccines approved for emergency use by the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI).