BHOPAL: While maintaining that both the COVID-19 vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin – are totally safe, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed on Thursday to make the massive vaccination campaign successful.

“The vaccine no less than sanjivani booti for protection against novel Coronavirus has arrived. Citizens will get its benefits sequentially and Corona must be totally wiped out now. About 4.25 lakh health care workers, who have been working to save people’s lives will be vaccinated first in the first phase,” said Chouhan.

Holding discussions with collectors and commissioners about the COVID-19 vaccination via video conferencing, after inaugurating the National Health Mission (NHM) building in Bhopal on Thursday, the CM maintained “Both Covishield and Covaxin are totally safe. This massive vaccination campaign should be made successful. There is no need to panic if someone has a minor allergy after the vaccine.”

He appealed to the administrative officers, public representatives, media of the districts to not let any misleading information or rumours related to vaccinations flourish, but cooperate in making this vaccination campaign a success.

Chouhan also informed that the first COVID-19 vaccine will be administered on January 16 to a sanitation worker. “This will also be an honour for the services that they have provided during the Corona crisis.”

He further said that the protocol for vaccination has been fixed. The vaccine will be administered as per sequence. These include frontline workers such as police personnel, revenue staff as they also need to be safe first. Vaccines will be applied in the same order in which the registration for vaccination took place. No recommendation will be allowed in the mahabhiyan on who has to be vaccinated first.

The CM further appealed to religious leaders, social workers to give information about the campaign to citizens on priority basis.