Darbhanga| Braving flood fury along with accompanied blues and bemoans, Darbhanga district is basking in the glory of giving a befitting blow to Covid-19. It set a record of vaccinating one lakh people in a single day on August 31 and the pace of fight against coronavirus remains intact. It was a great day of fulfillment for Bihar which had administered 27 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine in a single day, a rare feat as the state is grappling with the annual flood fury. “It was a big moment for us,” said District Magistrate Dr SM Thiyagarajan. Overwhelmed by people’s response, he also tweeted: “Thank you Team Darbhanga and the people of Darbhanga once again. Expect the same cooperation in 2nd dose coverage too. Bihar achieved 27 lakh vaccinations in a day, with Darbhanga contributing more than 1 lakh.”

The vaccination milestone was crossed with a lot of effort. Faced with havoc wreaked by floods, the District Administration put up 400 vaccination centers and cajoled people to turn up for vaccination. Hard work didn’t go in vain! “On the mega vaccination day, 1.1 lakh doses of vaccine were administered at 400 centres. Each centre had one vaccinator and one data operator for real-time entry along with Anganwadi Sevikas, Sahayikas, and Jeevika Didis. Cops were also involved in crowd management,” said Tanai Sultania, Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), Darbhanga, while talking to Bureaucrats India. 

Preparations for seamless execution of the mega vaccination drive started days before the day of performance! There was a plan for each block and panchayat and people were informed well in advance about the vaccination camp. Each centre administered around 300 doses of vaccines. In all, 140 courier delivery persons were engaged to ensure that vaccines reach the centres a day before the drive. 

“A district control room was set up to monitor all the centres. A special video conference was organised by the DM to review the block level plan for the vaccination,” informed Tanai Sultania, a 2017 batch IAS officer. “The vaccination started in the district at 7 a. The live data entry was done at all centers. By the end of the day, Darbhanga had administered 1.1 lakh vaccines, thus becoming one of five districts in the state to cross the one lakh mark in a day,” added Sultania.

The feat has not gone unnoticed. District Magistrate Dr Thiyagarajan has received an appreciation certificate from the state’s Health Secretary. He was also honoured with ‘Champion DM’ award by the state government. ”Slowly and steadily, we are moving on the road to total vaccination,” he said, adding that 27 lakh COVID Vaccine doses are to be given in the district. Out of these, 16.96 lakh doses (14.04 lakh first dose & 2.92 lakh second dose) have already been administered. Around 250 vaccination centres are functioning on a daily basis to help achieve the goal of complete vaccination.

Daily vaccination plan is updated on official social media handles of the District Administration. Those who have already taken their first dose and their second dose of vaccine is due are being sent bulk messages to come to the nearest centres for vaccination. “We are also doing a door to door campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated,” said the DM.

A special Vaccination site at district  town hall  has been made functional. It operates everyday from 6 am till 9 pm and vaccinates close to 2500 people almost everyday. It also has drive in vaccinates facility for old aged and PWDs. In its 1 month of operation it has vaccinated close to 60000 people.

“Every alternate Saturday in all blocks and every Sunday at Town Hall, a special health camp is set up for those who come to get vaccinated. They can get tested for various diseases like diabetes, thyroid, BP and others. They get medicines as well. This has yielded good results, motivating people to visit vaccination centres and take their jabs,” said Dr Thiyagarajan told Bureaucrats India

In view of floods, special vaccination centres have been set up in flood camps and high-rise areas where people are taking refuge during the flood season. 95 per cent of those living in such camps are vaccinated. “When flood hit the area, many places were not accessible by roads. Boats were the only mode of transportation. However, every challenge was overcome in our zeal to defeat Covid-19, added Tanai Sultania.