COVID VACCINATION: 1,000 doses damaged in Silchar

* 7,585 people vaccinated

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: In an unfortunate incident 1,000 doses of Covidshield vaccines were damaged at Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH) on Tuesday even as the anti-Covid vaccination drive was gathering momentum in the State.

The State Health department has taken the matter very seriously and sought a detailed report from the Silchar administration as how vaccine doses were damaged.

Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the vaccines doses might be damaged due to certain technical reasons. "The Health workers will need more training to handle vaccine doses safely as it is a completely new exercise," he said.

Sarma, however, said if vaccine doses have been damaged due to human negligence actions will be initiated against guilty persons.

"The vaccines have been sent from one location to the other using an Ice Lined Refrigerator (ILR) in a temperature in between 2 and 8 degree Celsius. But suddenly the temperature dipped below 2 degree Celsius and vaccines got frozen and damaged," a source in the SMCH said.

On the other hand, the cumulative total number of vaccinated healthcare workers across Assam stands at 7,585 till Tuesday evening.

On Tuesday 2,043 beneficiaries were vaccinated till 6 pm through 58 sessions, the third day of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination, taking the cumulative total to 7,585 beneficiaries through 164 sessions.

No case of serious/severe AEFI reported on Tuesday. Out of the total of 58 session sites active on Tuesday, 52 session sites administered Covishield to 1926 beneficiaries, while 6 session sites administered Covaxin to 117 beneficiaries.

Only 9 minor cases of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) have been reported from 3 districts on Tuesday – with 6 minor cases reported from Dibrugarh, 2 minor cases reported from Goalpara and 1 minor case reported from Barpeta. All the 9 cases are under control now after due observation and treatment provided as per protocol. An AEFI is any unexpected medical occurrence that follows immunization. It may or may not be related to the vaccine or vaccination process.

Frontline workers in Assam have been extensively trained to detect and diagnose any possible case of AEFI and report it immediately. With a strong and extensive AEFI surveillance system present, all AEFI incidents are being reported and investigated as per the national AEFI guidelines to ensure transparency to the beneficiaries.

Also Read: Covid-19 Vaccines in Silchar Gets Frozen, Over 1000 Damaged

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