As many as 15,982 senior citizens and 2,321 middle-aged with comorbid conditions were administered the first dose of Covishield vaccine in Jharkhand on Monday, while 4,049 healthcare workers and frontline workers got their first jab at vaccination centres across the state, figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) highlighted.

The state, however, achieved only 10 per cent of its target for administering the first dose of vaccine to healthcare and frontline workers on the day. The second jab was administered to as many as 13,351 healthcare and frontline workers, only 16 per cent of over 85,000 beneficiaries registered for the second dose on Monday.

State NHM Director Ravi Shankar Shukla on Monday said that the government was focusing on speeding up the vaccination process as Covid cases were on the rise and vaccination would at least provide safety to senior citizens and people with comorbid conditions.

“We are focusing on vaccinating as many senior citizens and vulnerable people as possible at the earliest in order to prevent casualties in the state in case of a rise in Covid cases,” said Shukla.

As per government data, as many as 4,94,432 people have been administered the first dose of the vaccine in Jharkhand since the launch of the nationwide immunization programme on January 16. At least, 1,57,684 of these beneficiaries have also received the second jab, reveals NHM data.

The state has so far achieved 86 per cent of its target for administering the first dose of vaccine and 68 per cent of the target for administering the second jab, stated a report released by the NHM. Of the close to 5 lakh people vaccinated, more than 3.5 lakh were healthcare and frontline workers. Over 1.16 lakh senior citizens and more than 19,000 middle-agers with comorbid conditions have got the first jab of the vaccine so far.

Meanwhile, at least 67 people were found infected by the Covid-19 virus in Jharkhand on Monday, while 59 patients recovered, a bulletin released by the NHM stated. The number of active cases of infection crossed the 550 mark on the day and reached 556.

The number of active cases also drew close to 350 in Ranchi as the district reported 48 cases against only 31 recoveries. As many as 346 people were battling the viral infection in Ranchi on Monday.