New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS): A total of 2,61,309 beneficiaries took vaccine shots on Friday under the nationwide Covid immunisation drive running in the country for nearly a month, taking the inoculation tally to 77,66,319, officials said.

The vaccination was conducted in all states and Union Territories (UTs) in which Uttar Pradesh topped the chart with 68,135 vaccinations followed by Maharashtra (24,946), Madhya Pradesh (21,897), Jammu & Kashmir (17,900), and West Bengal (17,609).

The ministry said that of the total people administered the vaccine, 58,65,813 are healthcare workers while 19,00,506 were frontline workers.

Meanwhile, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said that one case of Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI) has been reported in the last 24 hours where a beneficiary from West Bengal suffered anaphylaxis shock. The person was treated at a hospital in Murshidabad and has been discharged. The ministry said that the case was not found attributed to the vaccination.

The Ministry said that a total of 24 deaths among those who have taken the Covid vaccination have been reported but clarified that none of the deaths were found linked with the vaccine so far in the follow-up investigations.

"Of them, nine deaths occurred outside the hospital while 15 occurred during hospitalisation," Joint Secretary, Health, Dr Mandeep K Bhandari said.

He also said that a total of 33 hospitalisations after receiving vaccines have been reported so far while clarifying that the vaccines were not found to be a cause behind them.

"No severe case of AEFI and death has been attributable to vaccination till date," Bhandari said.

Meanwhile, the ministry also shared the data of eight states and UTs who are yet to reach even 40 per cent of their vaccination target which is a cause of concern. The se states are Meghalaya (36.6 per cent), Punjab (36.3 per cent), Manipur (35.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu (32.2 per cent), Chandigarh (30.3 per cent), Nagaland (23 per cent), and Puducherry (19.9 per cent)