Health officials of Jharkhand expect a better turnout at vaccine centres from Monday when the inoculation drive is set to resume since there has been no case of adverse event following immunization (AEFI) unlike a few that have been reported in states like Delhi and Maharashtra.

Covid vaccine will henceforth be administered four days a week except on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. While Sunday is a holiday, the health department is usually busy with other scheduled vaccination drives every Thursday and Saturday.

Jharkhand launched the inoculation drive from 48 centres across 24 districts with a target of 4,800 on Day One on Saturday. Two centres were set up in each district with a target of administering the vaccine to 100 people at each.

However, as per health department records, by the end of Day One, 1,600 out of 4,800 registered beneficiaries did not show up to take the shots. Many pulled out in the last moment due to apprehensions about the efficacy and possible side effects of the vaccine. Others failed to get an auto generated SMS on their registered phones, sources said.

“But fears will gradually subside with no AEFI cases in the state. And whatever minor glitches were reported on the ground will get streamlined. The health department is satisfied with the turnout on Day One,” remarked a senior official at the state chapter of National Health Mission (NHM) on Sunday.

State health minister Banna Gupta sounded satisfied. “I have not received reports of AEFI or any other problems in anyone who has received the vaccine shots. From Monday, we expect a better turnout as the department is also working out on plans to counsel beneficiaries,” he said, adding that the number of vaccination centres would remain unchanged as of now.

Initially, Jharkhand had planned to launch the vaccination drive at 129 centres. But days before the launch, it was trimmed to 48 following directives from the Centre for better mobilisation of resources and utilization of the vaccine.

Mariam Guriya, a cleanliness worker at Sadar hospital, who got the first shot on Saturday, said that she was doing fine and maintained that she would motivate others to take the vaccine.

“I didn’t face any problem yesterday (Saturday) after taking the vaccine. I am fine today (Sunday) too. I will encourage others to get the vaccine citing my example,” she said.