Shot in the arm for Chandigarh, gets 12,000 doses

Naina Mishra
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 12

The UT Health Department received 12,000 doses of Covishield, a Covid vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India, at the city airport today.

19 boxes of vaccine arrive from Pune

Mohali: The first consignment of the Covid-19 vaccine arrived at the Chandigarh international airport on Tuesday from the Pune airport. The IndiGo flight carrying 19 boxes of vaccine landed at 12.45 pm. While 18 boxes were handed over to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, one was received by the GMSH-16, Chandigarh. Each box contained 12,000 doses. “All laid-down protocols for handling the vaccine movement were followed,” said Ajay Kumar, CEO, CHIAL. TNS

The vaccine has been transported in the form of 10-dose vials. The UT has received 1,200 vials. The vaccine can be stored at a temperature of 2°C–8°C and has to be taken in two doses with intramuscular injections at a gap of 28 days. Officials said the vaccines received today would be sufficient to inoculate around 5,500 health care workers. A total of 8,830 workers, including private health care providers, have been registered for vaccination in the UT.

An official statement of the UT Health Department read, “The vaccine vials have been kept in a walk-in cooler. The storage area will be guarded by security personnel round the clock.”

Dr Amandeep Kaur Kang, Director, Health Services, UT, said, “We will have to strategise the administration of vaccine as the doses received are limited. For each dose administered to a beneficiary, a subsequent dose will be stored for administration after 28 days.”

The vaccine was received by Dr VK Nagpal, Medical Superintendent-cum-Joint Director, UT Health Department, at the Chandigarh airport. The vaccine was transported in a dedicated van, which was escorted by a police vehicle.

The first phase of the vaccination drive will start in the city on January 16.