Odisha to accomplish 90 per cent administration of first dose by Nov 30

Odisha is set to accomplish 90 per cent administration of the first dose by November 30, the officials said.

The vaccination rate in Odisha has gone above the national rate with the least procedural wastage of vaccine doses, said the state government on Tuesday.

Taking a district-wise review of the progress, state Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra said, "We are now in a transitional phase of the pandemic."

"There has been a substantial reduction in the number of infected cases. At this point, we have to intensify the vaccination drive before the third wave hit the people," he said.

The districts were asked to intensify the campaign and open more COVID-19 vaccination centres at the village and Gram Panchayat (GP) levels.

Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Raj Kumar Sharma said that the total vaccination in Odisha crossed 4.03 crore by 13 November 2021.

Out of this 2,68,04,755 persons received the first dose and around 1,34,96,059 received the second dose, he informed.

The percentage for the 18 above population who received the first dose was 82.4 per cent against the national average of 79.8 per cent, it added.

Similarly, 41.5 per cent of the population received the second dose against the national average of 38.4 per cent.

Target was set to accomplish 90 per cent administration of the first dose by 30 November, it added further.

Director National Health Mission, Shalini Pandit appraised that "because of the proper care in storing, transportation and administration of the vaccine, the wastage of the doses was least in Odisha."

The vaccine waste dipped to -5.3 per cent in the state thereby saving around 20 lakhs of the doses, she added.

"There was a sufficient supply of the vaccine and the syringes," she said.

Pandit further directed "to ensure that the second dose of the vaccine should always be of the same brand of the first dose without fail."

There should not be intermixing in the vaccine between the first and second doses, she added.

( With inputs from ANI )

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