From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jan 23: St John’s Medical College Hospital, one of the national launch sites for COVID 19 vaccination by the Government of India, has vaccinated as many as 2130 persons. As many as 618 persons got vaccinations on Saturday.

So far, St. John’s Director, top Executives (Associate Directors), Dean, Chief of Medical Services/Medical Superintendent, Senior Professors, Heads of Departments, Faculty members, Senior Residents, Postgraduates, Housekeeping staff and Bio Medical Waste Management staff have received the vaccination shots.

Rev Fr Dr Paul Parathazham, Director of St John’s Medical College Hospital, after taking the Covid Vaccination, has in a statement said, "I took the Covid Vaccine injection about an hour ago in St John’s Medical College Hospital Vaccination Centre.

The injection was virtually painless, and I am feeling fine.’’ St John’s has been in the forefront of the fight against the Covid pandemic right from its inception and has cared for more than 20,000 Covid patients so far, about 5000 were admitted, of which more than 700 were ventilated patients in the ICU.

"As the number of Covid patients increased, St John’s set up a segregated Covid Care Centre exclusively for the care of the Covid patients. At the height of the pandemic, we had 650 to 700 patients a day. Now the number of Covid patients in the Hospital has come down to less than 20. With the decline in the number of Covid patients, St John’s Hospital has now turned its attention to the Covid vaccination drive for healthcare workers,’’ he said in a statement.

St John’s Hospital was one of the national launch sites for Covid-19 vaccination on January 1 and has nine Covid Vaccination Centres with the capacity to vaccinate 900 beneficiaries every day. "I am very happy that our health workers who were the frontline warriors in the war against the Covid menace, have now the opportunity to take the vaccine and protect themselves and their dear and near ones from the Covid threat.

We have been urging all our doctors, nurses, support staff and students s to register and take the vaccine at the earliest. Taking the vaccine, I believe, is a personal duty and a social obligation. A personal duty because each one has the responsibility to take all available measures to protect oneself from ill health. A Social obligation because if we fail to protect ourselves from the virus, we pose a threat to the society at large by being potential carriers of the virus in the community,’’ he said.

Stories are being spread casting doubts about the efficacy of the vaccine and creating apprehensions about its aftereffects in the minds of the public. I would urge all citizens to ignore such baseless contentions and come forward to take the vaccine at the earliest. Let us all join the fight against the Covid pandemic and defeat it before it does more harm to us and our society,’’ he added.