Bhubaneswar:  Ahead of the possible third wave of COVID-19 in the country, the vaccination of expectant women commenced in Odisha today, July 16 and the on-the-spot registration was facilitated by ASHA and Anganwadi workers.

A special feature has been added to the CoWIN portal for vaccination of pregnant mothers. The beneficiaries can book slots on the website and receive the shots at nearest vaccination centres. It is calculated that, 9 lakh pregnant women register themselves every year to get benefits under various schemes, of which 4 lakh beneficiaries will be given the COVID jab in first phase, informed State Health Director Bijay Panigrahi today. Earlier, the ANM, ASHA and Anganwadi workers and other health workers were asked to complete training for administration of vaccines on or before July 15.

Today, the vaccination is underway at 681 session sites across Odisha. Total 4.61 lakh Covishield doses and 1.79 lakh Covaxin doses are in stock. The health authorities  have given direction to district authorities that front-line workers will give counselling to these women regarding the benefits of the COVID vaccine, as per reports.

Covid Impact on Students Health: 85 pc of children report ‘learning loss’

Covid Vax leads to reduced ICU stay and treatment cost among vaccinated patients

Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine raises risk of rare neurological disorder: FDA