104-year-old retd IFS officer among 33k to get vaccine

Born in 1917, Tulsi Das Chawla lives in East Patel Nagar with his son, Ashok, an architect, and a caretaker.

Among the 475 people who came to take the Covid vaccine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Saturday were a 104-year-old retired Indian Foreign Service officer and his 71-year-old son.

Born in 1917, Tulsi Das Chawla lives in East Patel Nagar with his son, Ashok, an architect, and a caretaker. The centenarian retired from the IFS in 1975. Chawla was administered Covishield after he willingly wished to take it, said his son. He did not report any side effects.

Ashok said his father has always been an active even in his old age: “He reads the newspapers keeps up with the happenings of the world, and watches television. He does not have any comorbidities, and isn’t on any medication.”

“It was my father who was pushing for the vaccine. He is a forward-thinking man,” added Ashok.

For the past year, the father and son have maintained a strict protocol of not leaving the house and wearing protective gear even while sitting outside. “We got our groceries delivered. My father wore masks and gloves even while sitting in the garden… It’s been hard but it’s been alright. We have been very protective of him,” said Ashok.

Hospital chairperson Dr DS Rana, in a statement, said: “We are seeing a lot of enthusiasm among people over 60 years of age. Mr Chawla is an inspiration to us all.”

With 33,287 beneficiaries taking the shot on Saturday, Delhi witnessed the highest number of vaccinations since the drive kicked off on January 16. Of these, 17,288 were above 60 years; 2,824 between 45-59 years with co-morbidities; 3,769 were frontline workers; and 2,274 were healthcare workers.

Two minor incidents of AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) were reported. As many as 7,132 beneficiaries were given their second dose.

Private facilities once again saw more beneficiaries than government ones — 13,355 (66%) turned up against 17,800 (75%) available slots in private facilities while 6,757 (34%) turned up against 17,500 available slots (39%) in government facilities.

Cases above 300 for second day in a row

For the second day in a row, the number of new Covid cases on Saturday was 321 — up from 312 on Friday. In the national capital, cases above 300 were last seen in January — 585 cases were reported on January 1 and 384 on January 4.

The daily count dropped to 306 on January 11 and rose again to 386 on January 12. Since February, the count had dropped.

One death was reported in the capital. The daily positivity rate on Saturday rose to 0.60% from Friday’s 0.53%.

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