Safai karmarchari of Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar, Biranchi Nayak was the first frontline health worker of Odisha to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, as the immunisation drive rolled out across 161 sites in the State | Express bhubaneswar l sunday l January 17, 2021 l `8.00 l PAGES 24 l jeypore EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Two lakh health workers get vaccine on day one new delhi bengaluru hyderabad kochi bhubaneswar vizag (From left) AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria getting the first dose of Covishield vaccine in New Delhi. Phase-I of the nationwide drive was reserved for healthcare workers in the frontline of the battle against Covid-19 | Shekhar yadav, Meghana Sastry, Vinay madapu, Sanesh saka, biswanath, irfana & G Satyanarayana Health ministry claims no cases of post-inoculation hospitalisation; Bharat Biotech to compensate Covaxin recipients in case of adverse reaction many healthcare workers also alleging that they could not get the jab, acOver 60% of the targeted 3 lakh-plus cording to media reports. healthcare workers scheduled to get Talking to reporters on Saturday the Covid-19 vaccine on the first day evening, additional secretary in the of the vaccination programme took health ministry Manohar Agnani the shot on Saturday, the Union claimed there were no reports of hoshealth ministry said. It added that pitalisation after vaccination from 3,351 sessions were held throughout anywhere in the country . the country wherein 1,91,181 However, official figures beneficiaries were showed that in Delhi alone, Adverse vaccinated. 52 cases of AEFI (adverse events in The ministry had earlier events following immunisaDelhi, MH said at every 3,006 vaccination) were reported among tion centres throughout the At least 52 cases health workers post vaccicountry, 100 beneficiaries of adverse events nation. Of these one case were reported each would be vaccinated turned out to be severe that among health on the first day Though the . required hospitalisation. immediate reasons for the workers who were The Co-WIN software defewer than targeted number administered the signed for the vaccination coronavirus of vaccinations achieved drive also reported techniwas not shared, govern- vaccine in Delhi on cal glitches, resulting in deSaturday, ment sources conceded that lay in uploading the benefiaccording to at most places, less than the ciary list at some sites. official figures. invited beneficiaries had In terms of the number Maharashtra turned up. of people vaccinated, the In the first phase, the gov- reported another highest was in Andhra 14 such cases ernment plans to vaccinate Pradesh at 16,693, followed 1 crore healthcare workers by Bihar (16,401). followed by 2 crore frontline workers The government has procured 110 comprising police, paramilitary and million doses of Covishield manufacdefence personnel. tured by the Serum Institute of India Even though politicians were not and 55 million doses of Covaxin by supposed to get the vaccine shots in Bharat Biotech. the first phase, there were reports of While launching the vaccination several Trinamool Congress leaders, drive, Prime Minister Narendra including two MLAs, receiving the Modi sought to dispel concerns about Covid-19 vaccine in West Bengal’s vaccines saying they were approved Purba Bardhaman district on Satur- only after scientists were convinced day. It created a controversy with of their safety and effectiveness. P7 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Odisha achieves 85 pc; 14K get jabs Sign consent form to get Covaxin shot S u m i S u k a n ya D u t ta @ New Delhi Signing a consent form is mandatory to get Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin jab. While the form makes it clear that Bharat Biotech will be liable to pay compensation in case of serious adverse events following immunisation, it is silent on the amount. The form is attached with the vaccine, whose efficacy is yet to be proven. It has been launched on ‘clinical trial mode’, as mandated by the Drug Controller General of India. Sources in the Union Health Ministry and the ICMR said that Covaxin recipients are required to sign the consent form, which assures medical care and compensation if any adverse effect linked to the vaccine was found. The government has procured 55 million doses of Covaxin for the first phase of the nationwide vaccination drive. However, doctors have raised concerns over being inoculated with a vaccine that is still under trial. In several states, like in Delhi, Covaxin is being offered only at Centrally-run hospitals; healthcare workers are not given the choice of vaccine. “In phase-1 and phase-2 clinical trials, Covaxin has demonstrated the ability to produce antibodies against Covid-19,” says the form. “However, the clinical efficacy of Covaxin is yet to be established. Hence, it is important to appreciate that receiving the vaccine does not mean that other precautions related to Covid-19 need not be followed,” it adds. for the D-day. In the waiting room there were posters, banners and Anxiety and apprehensions leaflets with information on the ruled the mind of Class IV em- documents to bring while coming ployee Biranchi Naik as he rolled to centres, safety of vaccine and up his sleeves for the shot. But all precautions need to be taken afof them dissipated immediately ter vaccination. after administration of the first Odisha achieved 85 per cent jab of Covaxin at Capital Hospi- (pc) of the Day 1 target as of tal, Bhubaneswar and he was 16,405 registered HCWs, as many filled with a sense of pride and as 13,980, including 612 from Bhuachievement. baneswar were vacciThe 51-year-old saninated. Seven districts tation worker of the Angul, Balasore, hospital was the first Boudh, Kandhamal, healthcare worker of Kendrapara, Koraput I received the Odisha to receive the and Sonepur recorded Sanjivani of life. vaccine at 11.05 am im- There is absolutely no 100 pc with all selected mediately after Prime beneficiaries taking side effect. Initially, M i n i s t e r N a re n d r a the shot. there was a bit of anxiety, but I was Modi launched the With 54 pc, Keonjhar world’s largest immu- relaxed after the shot was the lowest followed was administered nisation programme by 66 pc in Nayagarh, through video confer70 pc in Dhenkanal and Biranchi Naik, Safai encing on Saturday. Kalahandi, 72 pc in karmachari, Capital “I received the SanJagatsinghpur and NuHospital jivani of life. There is apada, 73 pc in Naabsolutely no side efbarangpur and 75 pc in fect. Initially, I was a bit anxious, Deogarh. Khurda and Cuttack but I was relaxed after the shot achieved 81 pc and 82 pc of the was administered,” said Naik and target respectively. urged his fellow workers to take Only three cases of minor adthe vaccine without any fear. verse event following immunisaAcross the State, doctors, nurs- tion (AEFI) were reported in the es, paramedics and other health- State and they were immediately care workers (HCWs) lined up for attended by the doctors team. the shots at 161 session sites Their condition is now fine and which were decked up with col- they will take the second dose afcontinued on: P5 ourful decorations and balloons ter 28 days. H e m a n t K u m a r R o u t @ Bhubaneswar Biden taps Obama admin veterans for State Dept E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chandigarh/New Delhi Washington: US Presidentelect Joe Biden on Saturday filled out his State Department team with a group of former career diplomats and veterans of the Obama administration, signaling his desire to return to a more traditional foreign policy after four years of uncertainty and unpredictability under President Donald Trump | P9 Council nomination for Shahnawaz Hussain All hands on Deck Fishermen join hands to steer their vessels away from each other as their boats cross path in Chilika lake on Saturday | Biswanath Swain giant leap Bihar transgenders realise their khaki dream R a j e s h K u m a r Th a k u r @ Patna Modi announces `1,000 cr seed fund for startups Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a seed fund for startups, as part of which the government will give `1,000 crore to new entrepreneurs. Under the seed fund scheme, start-ups will be given grants up to `20 lakhs for Proof of Concept | P10 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar AS the nation rolled out the biggest Covid-19 vaccination programme in the world on Saturday Chief Minister , Naveen Patnaik interacted with health workers who were among the first to receive the shots and took feedback from them. In a step aimed at confidence building and allaying fears over the vaccine, the Chief Minister spoke to two health workers and a doctor after they were inoculated and asked them to share their experience. The three - health worker of Capital Hospital Biranchi Nayak, female health worker of Sundargarh Ajita Xess and doctor from Berhampur Dr Sunil Kota - stated they were fine after receiving the vaccine and experienced no adverse effect. Stating that 2021 has brought good news that the world was waiting for, the CM in his message said that the Covid-19 warriors had served the people during the last 10 months without caring for their lives. “We cannot forget their service and sacrifice. We are proud of them,” he said. He called upon the health and frontline workers to come froward for vaccination and sought cooperation of all P5 in making the drive a success. After I-T raids, farmers’ protest supporters face NIA summons express read New Delhi: Ex-Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain bagged a nomination from the BJP for the bypolls in Bihar legislative council. The terms for two seats vacated by BJP will end in July 2022. Hussain will be a nominee for remaining term | P7 Proud of our Covid warriors: Naveen Bihar has paved the path for the transgenders to don khaki by sanctioning direct recruitment to the posts of constables and assistant sub-inspectors. Apart from the giant leap towards empowering the third gender, the state has also reserved one post out of every 500 in the constable-ASI ranks for the transgenders. Touching upon the concept of proportional representation, the notification said that out of the sanctioned police strength of 1,30,243, transgen- ders should be given 51 (41 ASI and 10 constable) posts based on their proportion to the total population. As per the 2011 census, the transgenders form 0.039 per cent (40,287) of Bihar’s population of 10.41 crore. ADG(HQ) Jitendra Kumar said that 51 transgenders would be recruited as per the recommendations of the Home department. According to the notification, Superintendent of Police would be empowered to recruit constables, while the DIG would select the ASIs as per norms. The direct recruitment would be only for transgenders from Bihar. Welcoming the decision as historic, Reshma Prasad, one of the members of the National Council for Transgender Persons (NCTP), said the community was grateful to the Nitish government. “The community has also demanded a separate battalion of transgender police personnel, along with a two per cent quota, in the state police force,” she said. Notable mentions Chhattisgarh was the first state to allow transgenders in the police force in 2018, though K Prithika Yashini from Tamil Nadu was the first to be inducted into any police force as an SI in 2017. The Centre last year approved the recruitment of transgenders in paramilitary After the raids by the income tax department on commission agents in Punjab who are supporters of farmers’ protest, the National Investigation Agency has served notices to 12 activists who have supported the agitation, including Baldev Singh Sirsa, the president of the Lok B h a l a i I n s a f We l f a re Society . Sirsa, who has been part of the farmers’ team in the talks with the Centre, has been summoned by the agency for questioning on January 17, two days before the 10th round of talks. The NIA said Sirsa had been Mutant vs Vaccinator PLUS 12 PAGES called as a witness in connection with a terror funding case registered against the Sikhs For Justice, a banned Khalistani outfit. “A notice has been sent under Section 160 CrPC, which is done for witness summons,” an official said. The others who have been summoned include Baltej Pannu, a radio and TV journalist working with American and Canadian media houses, activist Jasveer Singh, Jasbir Singh Rode, Balwinder Pal Singh, Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke, Karnail Singh, Mandeep Singh, Paramjit Singh, Ranjit Singh, Surinder Singh, Pardeep Singh, Inderpal Singh Judge, Naresh Kumar and cable TV operator continued on: P7 Jaspal Singh. 3 minor AEFI cases in State THE Covid-19 vaccination drive went off smoothly on Day 1 across the State barring three cases of minor adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) on Saturday. The three healthcare workers, including two women, were from Dhenkanal, Cuttack and Gajapati districts | P2 whatsapp policy till may 15 defers its updated data privacy Facing backlash over forcing upon users its updated privacy policy, Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced that it never had any plans to delete non-complying accounts on February 8. The date extension is aimed at clearing ‘confusion’ | P11
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