Andhra Pradesh will begin the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination programme on Wednesday, informed Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas. In the second phase, the state will vaccinate the Panchayati Raj, municipal, revenue, police and sanitation workers. As many as 5.9 lakh names have already been registered on Co-Win app for the second phase of vaccination. A total of 3,181 vaccination sites have been readied.
Though 3.88 lakh frontline workers were supposed to be inoculated in the first phase, Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas said that only about 1.9 lakh received the vaccine, at a rate of 49%. Principal Health Secretary Anil Kumar Singhal said that 89,100 policemen, 1.55 lakh municipal employees and 3.3 lakh revenue employees names have been registered on the app for the second phase of vaccination.
He said 16.3 lakh vaccine shots are currently available in the state. In the event where any person develops side-effects after taking a vaccine, Srinivas said that the government will take necessary action.
The Health Minister also announced a Rs 50 lakh compensation for the family of an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker named Vijayalakshmi, who succumbed after taking a vaccine. The health department is awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of her death.
Vijatalakshmi died at the Government General Hospital in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, on Sunday. While hospital authorities said that she suffered a brain stroke, her fellow workers and family have expressed apprehensions that she died days after she was given the COVID-19 vaccine.
Vijayalakshmi’s family members have alleged that the COVID-19 vaccine had an adverse effect on her, stating that she was healthy and energetic before taking the vaccine, and did not have any other health complications.
(With IANS inputs)