In order to dispel hesitancy and misconceptions about anti-Covid vaccine and encourage the people to get themselves vaccinated, Punjab Chief Secretary, Ms Vini Mahajan, on Thursday took the first dose of the vaccine at a special camp, which she inaugurated at Punjab Civil Secretariat-1 here.
The camp was organised for the government employees on the directions of the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to achieve, “Mission Fateh” by defeating the deadly virus.
The Chief Secretary said the special camp at Punjab Civil Secretariat-1 in Sector 1 will be conducted till April 9. Similarly, a camp has also been organised at Punjab Civil Secretariat-2, Sector 9, Chandigarh, which will be held till May 30.
"I'm feeling fine after taking my first jab. Let us all ensure that each eligible adult is vaccinated," said Ms Mahajan.
Hailing the frontline workers of various departments for their services, the Chief Secretary said the government employees were playing a vanguard role to contain the spread of COVID for the healthier and safe future.
“Everyone above 45 years of age will be able to get COVID vaccine from today onwards”, said the Chief Secretary, while urging all those who are eligible to get inoculated at the earliest.
Ms Mahajan said the inoculation drive was now being carried out on all days of the week in the state to save the precious human lives from the pandemic and as many as 9,57,091 persons have been vaccinated in the state so far.
The state government has arranged the COVID vaccination drive even at the level of Tandarust Punjab Health Wellness Centres and Sub-Centres across the state for ensuring hassle-free inoculation of all the eligible persons. Besides, special camps were also held at Police Lines, BDPO offices and schools to cover the maximum population.
Expanding the ambit of vaccination drive, as many as 1,875 session sites (1649 government and 226 private) were active in the state as on Thursday, where dedicated medical teams have been deputed for undertaking the inoculation drive.
Ms Mahajan said the people also have a choice for on-the-spot registration using any identity proof, which will be considered as a valid document for inoculating the eligible person. On-site registration can be done for both first and second dose. Self registration can be done through www.co-win.gov.in
"The eligible persons can get themselves vaccinated at their nearby centres as the vaccine is safe," the Chief Secretary added.