As many as 1,856 healthcare workers were administered the second dose of Covid vaccine on Saturday. The healthcare workers had received their first dose during the first phase of vaccination drive four weeks ago.
Under the nationwide mega vaccination drive launched on January 16, a total of 4,319 (53 per cent) health workers, against a target of 8,117, were administered the shots at 81 centres across the city on day one.
However, the turnout for the second dose was about 43 per cent only.
As per doctors, the second dose is to given to a beneficiary after a gap of 28 days.
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On Saturday, a total of 13,768 beneficiaries received vaccine shots and administering of the second dose began for healthcare workers who had received the first jab 28 days ago, a senior official said.
"Out of the total number of healthcare workers, 1,856 received second dose today and 3,530 got the first jab. Also, 8,382 frontline workers also got their first shots today," he said.
The number of centres where vaccination was carried out on Friday stood at 257, with a turnout of about 57 per cent, as over 14,800 people received COVID-19 vaccine shots in Delhi in the fourth week of the inoculation drive.
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The second dose delivery began at LNJP Hospital as well and 25 people received the second shots, a senior official at the facility said, adding that a total of 137 persons were vaccinated there on Saturday.
Thirty-two healthcare workers were vaccinated on January 16 at the the LNJP Hospital, from where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had officially started the drive.
The state-run hospital, current a partial coronavirus facility, had played a critical role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi.
A senior doctor at the Centre for Chest and Respiratory Illness, and other healthcare workers at the BLK Super Speciality Hospital also received his second COVID vaccine shot on Saturday, a spokesperson of the hospital said.
A senior doctor at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital said, "110 people got vaccinated in total, out of whom five beneficiaries were those who got their second shots today".
On the second scheduled day after the roll-out of the exercise on January 16, the figures had stood at 3,598 (44 per cent of the target). The sharp fall had come after one severe and 50 minor adverse effect cases were reported, on the opening day of the vaccination drive.
The count on third schedule day was much higher, at 4,936 (48 per cent).
After sluggish start, since the exercise was kicked off January 16, the inoculation drive had picked up pace in the last several days.
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"On Friday, 14,843 people were administered coronavirus vaccine, and AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) was reported in seven persons," a senior official of the Delhi Health Department had said.
Delhi recorded 141 fresh COVID-19 cases and three deaths on Friday, even as the positivity rate stood at 0.22 per cent.
(With PTI inputs.)
