56,500 vaccine vials landed at MBB airport
A day after Meghalaya and Assam, the first consignment of vaccines reached Tripura on Wednesday morning amid tight security.
The first consignment carried 56,500 doses of vaccine with January 16 being fixed to be the date of pan-India vaccine launch. Officials said, vaccination would take place at 15 session sites or vaccination points on January 16.
"First consignment of 56,500 doses Covid vaccine arrives at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, Agartala. In the first phase of vaccination, health and frontline warriors will be vaccinated.
“I would like to thank Shri Narendra Modi ji as we gear
up for the world's biggest vaccination drive", Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb tweeted after the arrival of the vaccine.
After arrival of the vaccine vials that are preserved in ice-bags, National Health Mission's vaccine vans carried them towards the state vaccine storage located at Gurkhabasti where the directorate of health services is also situated.
In the meantime, security arrangements had been also beefed up where the vaccines were being stored for the time being.
As per planning, the NHM which had been entrusted as the Nodal Agency for vaccination, designed a planned route through which the vaccines would be transported to district storages and from there to the cold-chain points. The entire exercise and mechanism of movement would be akin to the elections with security forces guarding the vaccines all the time.
In a short media briefing in front of the state vaccine storage, Tripura NHM Mission Director Siddhartha Shiv Jaiswal said, "Tripura state has received 56,500 vaccine doses and district wise allocation of these vaccines are also completed. Soon after the final counting we shall disburse vaccines for the district vaccine storages with security like we used to send EVM machines during the elections".
On being asked about the state's preparedness of vaccine launch slated on January 16 next, he said, "in 15 session sites vaccination will take place on 16 and enough preparation is done for that. Route plans are sorted and healthcare workers will receive the first shots across the state in the first phase of vaccination".