Bengaluru: 97-year-old first to get COVID-19 vaccine in city
What's the story
A 97-year old man became the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Bengaluru as the drive for inoculating the general public got underway in Karnataka on Monday. The initial vaccination drive that started on January 16 covered health workers and frontline workers. The next phase started on Monday for all people above 60 years of age and those over 45 with comorbidities.
Vaccination drive
Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru are leading the way
Senior citizens sporting face masks queued up at private Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru for getting the vaccine shot. Some of the beneficiaries were wheelchair-bound. "Ramaswami Parthasarathy, 97-year-old, was the first to get vaccinated," Manipal Hospitals said in a statement. The hospital appealed to the senior citizens and people above 45 years with comorbidities to register themselves for inoculation.
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People over the age of 60 can directly walk-in
"The registrations for the vaccination can be completed online through the CoWIN app, and people over the age of 60 can directly walk-in for the vaccination. The hospital is cooperating with the government and abiding by the standard procedures and protocols," Manipal Hospitals said.
Preparations
Government hospitals making the necessary preparations
Meanwhile, the government hospitals too started the preparations for vaccination. The vaccination will take place at all the taluk and district level hospitals and two identified private hospitals in each district. "We are starting the registration process from today and will begin the vaccination drive once the preparations are over," Director and Dean of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Dr. CR Jayanthi said.
Guidelines
Government hospitals to carry out vaccination four days a week
According to the state health department, vaccination days will be Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in government facilities and all working days in private hospitals. The number of vaccinations would be limited to 200 per day, per session site, and would be on a first-come-first-serve basis. However, online registered beneficiaries would be allotted a specific time in a day.