First Shipment Of 'Covishield' Reaches Delhi; Health Minister Arrives In TN For Vaccine Dry Run On Friday

The first shipment of 'Covishield' vaccine has arrived in Delhi from Pune while union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan reached Tamil Nadu to supervise the second nationwide dry run to be held on Friday. Here's all about it.

File Photo

New Delhi: The first shipment of 'Covishield' vaccine has arrived in the national capital ahead of second nationwide dry run to be conducted on Friday.  According to reports, the shipment of Covishield was carried on Air India flight AI 850 from Pune and will likely be immediately shifted to the Rajeev Gandhi Superspeciality Hospital, where a cold storage facility has been set up. The hospital will act as the main storage facility for Delhi and vials will be sent to over 600 cold chain points in the city from here. 'Covishield' vaccine has been developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and is manufactured by the Serum Institute in Pune. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, on Thursday, arrived in Chennai to oversee the vaccine dry run in Tamil Nadu. The Health Minister informed about the same through a tweet which reads "Landed in Chennai to personally review the dry run for administering Covid-19 vaccine in Tamil Nadu". "Feeling exhilarated as we move closer to kick-starting the vaccination drive. A massive nationwide dry run is being conducted in 736 districts across 33 States & UTs tomorrow," he added.

Landed in #Chennai to personally review the dry run for administering #COVID19vaccine in #TamilNadu

Feeling exhilarated as we move closer to kick-starting the vaccination drive. A massive nationwide dry run is being conducted in 736 districts across 33 States & UTs tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/fhdlZINHca — Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 7, 2021

As per the official statement, Dr. Harsh Vardhan will visit the sessions site at Government General Hospital in Chennai followed by the one at Government Omandurar Hospital. He will also oversee work at the Apollo Hospital’s vaccination centre after paying a brief visit to the General Medical Store Depot (GMSD) in Periamedu. "The minister will also visit the vaccination Centre at Chengalpattu. He will be visiting the Hindustan Bio-Tech Ltd campus at Chengalpattu after concluding his supervision at these sites," the statement informed. The drill is set to take place across 736 districts in 33 states and union territories. The Union Health Minister interacted with state health ministers and principal secretaries of states via video conferencing. Earlier this week in an important development, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had granted restricted emergency use authorisation to two Coronavirus vaccines 'COVAXIN' by Bharat Biotech and 'Covisheild' by Serum Institute of India. While there is a section of people including opposition leaders and medical experts raising doubts over the approval, the government maintains that due process has been followed and the vaccines are safe for being administered. WATCH | Haj pilgrims to be given COVID vaccine: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi