PM Narendra Modi to kick off vaccination drive, Bengaluru to have 10 facilities

Bengaluru: Karnataka has set up 243 facilities across the state to roll out the first phase of Covid-19 vaccinations that begin Saturday, with Bengaluru having 10 centres of which two are in the private sector.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off the vaccination drive at Victoria Hospital complex of the Bengaluru Medical College & Research Institute (BMCRI) virtually, in the morning.

St. John’s Hospital and East Point Medical College are the private facilities where enrolled citizens will receive vaccinations.


Health and medical education minister K Sudhakar released details of the massive vaccination drive to the media on Friday after holding a videoconference with top officials of all districts.

The government has distributed Serum Institute of India’s Covishield in 237 centres and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin in six centres - at Ballari, Shivamogga, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Chamarajnagar and Davanagere.

Political leaders would have received the jab in the first phase itself, but the prime minister is keen that health warriors who are battling the pandemic as frontline soldiers should receive it first. People with comorbidities are next on the priority list, Sudhakar said.

Karnataka Covid-19 Expert Committee member Dr Sudarshan Ballal said he has also registered to receive a shot and will take it if offered.

“The vaccine is adequately tested, safe, and efficacious, and its side-effects are minimal like any other vaccine. No vaccine is perfect, but this one fits all the criteria,” Ballal said.

The government has targeted to inoculate 7,17,439 health warriors in the initial phase, and aims to vaccinate 24,300 people on the first day itself. The government has 8,14,500 doses of the vaccine, and the initial phase is expected to be complete within a week, the minister said.

The government will provide emergency medical service at the site itself if any recipient shows side-effects. He urged citizens to rely on the information provided by the government, and not to fall prey to rumours floated on social media.

The first phase will cover health warriors, police and pourakarmikas (sanitation workers), and the vaccine is completely safe, the health minister said.

They will receive the second dose 28 days after the first one is administered.

EOM