Sanitation worker receives India's first Covid-19 vaccine shot at AIIMS

A sanitation worker at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi received India's first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday, kicking off the world's largest vaccination drive in earnest.

The worker was administered the vaccine in the presence of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

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Earlier in the morning, PM Narendra Modi launched the Covid-19 vaccination drive, saying, "never before in history has such a big vaccination drive been launched".

AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria also received Covid-19 vaccine shot at AIIMS in Delhi.

This marked the start of Covid-19 vaccination in Delhi with healthcare workers, who were at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, getting the first shots.

Doctors, nurses and healthcare workers were vaccinated at AIIMS hospital.

A doctor, a nurse and a sanitation worker will be given the shot later in the day in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at LNJP Hospital, sources had said on Friday.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, Kejriwal will visit the hospital at 12 noon.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain is also expected to join him.

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers of the LNJP Hospital, Delhi's largest state-run facility, had rendered yeoman service last year in the collective battle against the deadly virus.

The vaccination exercise will span 81 sites across all 11 districts. Six central government hospitals -- AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, Kalawati Saran Children Hospital and two ESI hospitals -- are also part of the drive.

Besides LNJP Hospital, Delhi-government run GTB Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, DDU Hospital, BSA Hospital, Delhi State Cancer Institute, ILBS Hospital are among the vaccination sites.

Private facilities Max Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Apollo Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital are also part of the inoculation drive.

Delhi had recorded 295 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday, the lowest in more than eight months, which took the city's tally to 6,31,884. The death toll mounted to 10,732 with 10 new fatalities, according to official data.

Jain had said the positivity rate slipped to an "all-time low" of 0.44 per cent.

The city government has received a total of 2.74 lakh doses of the vaccine so far from the Centre, which would be sufficient to cater to 1.2 lakh healthcare workers, Kejriwal had said on Thursday.

(With inputs from PTI)