THE VACCINATOR & THE VACCINATED: BOTH WERE WORRIED INITIALLY

‘Couldn’t sleep entire night, kept praying’

THE VACCINATOR & THE VACCINATED: BOTH WERE WORRIED INITIALLY

Sintha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:17.01.2021

Jesima Jalarmathi, a nursing officer at Nimhans, was ridden with fear after getting a call on Friday night asking her to be prepared to administer Covid-19 vaccines.

“I have been a nurse for the last 21 years but this is a new vaccination and I was worried. I couldn’t sleep the entire night and kept praying to the Almighty throughout,” the 46-year-old vaccinator told STOI on Saturday after giving the jab to 38 people at Nimhans.

The first dose was given to Nimhans director Dr G Gururaj, and Jesima said that she was jittery while administering the first injection but got over the initial fear afterwards.

“All my colleagues helped me regain confidence and I eventually overcame my trepidation and was able to administer the injection gently,” Jesima said. By the end of the day, Dr Gururaj appreciated Jesima saying that she was a gentle injector.

While administering the vaccine shots, Jesima said that she could not help but recall the coronavirus cases she had seen among her colleagues and a fellow nursing officer who succumbed to the infection.

Health workers queue up for the vaccine at Cooper Hospital in Mumbai

‘Don’t go for the 1st round, my kids said’

Hyderabad: When she showed up for work at Gandhi Hospital on Saturday, sanitation worker S Kishtamma had little idea she’d become the first to get vaccinated in Telangana, reports Amrita Didyala. Initially slotted for Monday, she jumped to the front of the line as PM Modi was expected to interact with beneficiaries there and the authorities wanted some sanitation staff there along with doctors.

“I was a bit nervous initially, but I’m absolutely fine now,” she said after stepping out of the observation room. Her family, though, was apprehensive. “My children weren’t comfortable with me getting vaccinated in the first round,” said the mother of three. But she decided to go ahead with it, nonetheless.