Punjab and Haryana have made elaborate arrangements for the launch of the Covid-19 vaccination drive on Saturday with healthcare workers to be given the shots first.
Officials said health workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedic staff and sanitation workers, will get the first shots of the vaccine.
Fifty-nine sites have been identified in Punjab and 77 in Haryana for the vaccination drive on Saturday, the officials said, adding that the vaccines will be administered to 100 beneficiaries at each site.
Punjab has received 2.04 lakh doses while Haryana has got 2.41 lakh doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, which have already been sent to the respective districts in both the states for the voluntary inoculation drive.
"Among healthcare workers, there are doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, paramedic staff, sanitation workers, whether they are regular or on contract, working in hospitals," Punjab''s Principal Secretary, Health Hussan Lal said. Punjab has around 1.74 lakh health workers, he added. The vaccines will be administered four days a week, Lal said.
Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said only the registered beneficiaries, whose data has been uploaded on the CoWIN site — an online platform for monitoring the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine — will be vaccinated. The sites that have already received the first doses of the vaccine shall necessarily plan for the second doses post 28 days according to protocol, he said.
In the first phase, health workers will be administered the vaccine. After the health workers, the vaccine will be administered to the frontline workers, including policemen, paramilitary forces'' personnel, sanitation workers and disaster management volunteers. Thereafter, people above 50 years of age and those aged below 50 years with co-morbid conditions will be covered under the inoculation drive, officials said.
PUNJAB CM WRITES TO PM TO THANK HIM FOR RECEIPT OF COVISHIELD DOSES, URGES HIM TO CONSIDER FREE VACCINE FOR POOR
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking free vaccine delivery to the poor population of the state while acknowledging the receipt of 2,04,500 doses of Covishield vaccine and thanking the PM for making this vaccine available on priority to the Health Care Workers (HCWs) of the State and Central Government in Punjab.
At the same time, he requested the Prime Minister “to consider providing free vaccine to the poor population with a view to lessen the disease burden and also ensuring a check on the further spread of transmission thereby allowing more economic activity.”
Referring to reports citing some central government sources that apart from the HCWs and Front Line Workers (FLWs), the remaining population may not be provided free vaccine, Capt Amarinder pointed out in his letter that “the people of the State have gone through a very difficult time due to Covid wherein economic activities have nosedived and the economy has still not recovered from this shock.” “It would be difficult for the poorer sections of society to pay for the vaccination,” he said.
Pointing out that “the Covid-19 pandemic has been an unparalleled disaster in living memory, and heavy expenditure had to be incurred in our Covid response,” the Chief Minister further wrote that his government had already requested the Centre that the accumulated balances with the state in the State Disaster Relief Fund may be permitted to be used as necessary for Covid response. “The MHA may kindly approve this to allow pending payments to be cleared,” he urged the Prime Minister.
An official spokesperson said that Captain Amarinder will go live on Saturday morning to initiate the process of vaccinating the health workers in the state as part of the nationwide launch of the vaccination programme, shortly after the Prime Minister launches it for the country.
The CM will kickstart Punjab’s vaccination drive from Mohali at 11.30 a.m., with a total of 59 vaccination sites to be functional in the first phase. Since a specific number of vaccination doses have been received so far for the health care workers whose details were shared by the state government with the Centre, he himself will now take the vaccine in the next phase, said the spokesperson.
ALL ARRANGEMENTS IN PLACE, SAYS HARYANA DG HEALTH
Haryana Director General, Health Services Suraj Bhan Kamboj on Friday said that all the arrangements are in place in the State for the launch of the Covid-19 vaccination drive on Saturday with healthcare workers to be given the shots first. Two doses of the same vaccine will be administered to the beneficiaries after a gap of 28 days, he added.
Talking to The Pioneer over the phone, Kamboj said that seventy seven sites have been identified in the State for the vaccination drive on Saturday, he said, adding that the vaccines will be administered to maximum 100 beneficiaries at each site.
“Around two lakh health workers will be vaccinated. Among healthcare workers, there are doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, paramedic staff, sanitation workers, whether they are regular or on contract, working in hospitals,” DG added.
DG Health further said that the Health Department has made all necessary preparations for smooth conduct of vaccination exercise across the State.
The district authorities have been instructed to take utmost care during the vaccination campaign. Haryana has got 2.41 lakh doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, which have already been sent to the respective districts for the voluntary inoculation drive, he said, adding that the vaccines will be administered four days a week. Only the registered beneficiaries, whose data has been uploaded on the CoWIN site an online platform for monitoring the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine will be vaccinated.
The sites that have already received the first doses of the vaccine shall necessarily plan for the second doses post 28 days according to protocol, he said.
Kamboj said that after the health workers, the vaccine will be administered to the frontline workers, including policemen, paramilitary forces'' personnel, sanitation workers and disaster management volunteers.
Thereafter, people above 50 years of age and those aged below 50 years with co-morbid conditions will be covered under the inoculation drive, he added.
“Each Session Site will administer a vaccine to 100 beneficiaries by the Vaccinators. The information in this regard has already been uploaded on the CoWIN portal. Soon messages will be sent to the beneficiaries regarding the administration of vaccines. At each session site a five-member team of vaccinator officers will be deputed, who will ensure that social distancing norms are adhered to,” he added.
