At least 18,422 people have been administered the Covishield vaccine in Jharkhand so far, helping the state achieve 60 per cent of its vaccination target, figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) revealed on Monday.

As many as 30,831 people were registered for the vaccination at various centres across the state, but more than 12,000 of them did not turn up at the designated places to get the Covishield shots, NHM stated in a report released on Monday night.

At least five districts – Ranchi, Ramgarh, Palamu, Giridih and Bokaro have achieved more than 70 per cent of their respective vaccination targets in Jharkhand so far. Palamu led in terms of vaccination by administering Covishield shots to 79 per cent of the 1321 beneficiaries there. Of the 1924 beneficiaries registered for vaccination in Ranchi, 1342 got the shots – the highest among the 24 districts in the state.

On Monday, the government vaccinated as many as 3616 of the 6740 people registered for vaccination, thereby achieving 54 per cent of its target on the day, NHM stated in a separate report. Ranchi achieved 91 per cent of its vaccination target on the day by administering the Covishield shots to 362 of 400 registered beneficiaries.

While most of the people vaccinated in Jharkhand did not complain of any side effects, as many as 171 beneficiaries complained of minor adverse effects after getting the Covishield shots, NHM highlighted in its figures. At least 127 of the 171 people who complained of adverse effects following immunization were residents of Ranchi, NHM stated.

However, doctors said that no major cases of adverse effects following immunization were reported in the state and the ones who complained of side effects gradually attained stability. The vaccination programme began in Jharkhand on January 16 and 3200 people were vaccinated on the day at 48 centres across the tribal state.

Meanwhile, as many as 74 people were found infected by the Covid-19 virus in Jharkhand on the day and 122 patients recovered. As per government data, the number of active cases of infection dropped to 772 on the day.

Ranchi accounted for 43 of the 74 cases reported in Jharkhand, while East Singhbhum reported seven cases. No other district reported a double-digit-spike in cases on the day. However, a patient in Ranchi died during treatment, taking the Covid toll in Jharkhand up at 1064.