India began the nationwide vaccination drive for covid 19 vaccine on January 16, and by the second day, a total of 2,24,301 people have already been administered the vaccine, an official statement from ministry of health said.
The ministry also claimed that India has vaccinated “the highest number of persons day one of the nationwide #vaccination drive; ahead of many other countries.”
Meanwhile, 447 cases of adverse events have also been recorded. “Today being Sunday, only six states conducted vaccination drive and in 553 sessions, a total of 17,072 beneficiaries were vaccinated. “A total of 447 Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) have been reported on January 16 and 17, out of which only three required hospitalisation. Most of the AEFI reported so far are minor like fever, headache, nausea,” ministry’s additional secretary Manohar Agnani told reporters on Sunday.
Of those who had adverse effects, three had to be hospitalised and two were in the national capital, Delhi.
In a separate post, the government also clarified that the news about students being hospitalised in Kanpur is fake. A purported news article claimed that 40 studenst had to be hospitalised after being administered the vaccine. However, the government has clairified that it is not true.