Covid-19 vaccination to pick up steam in Gurugram

Nearly 4,800 front-line healthcare workers are expected to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the district on Monday, health department officials said

Nearly 4,800 front-line healthcare workers are expected to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the district on Monday, health department officials said.

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Of the total, nearly 3,300 work at private healthcare facilities and Monday’s inoculation drive will be conducted at 45 vaccination booths located across 31 vaccinations sites, with 100 healthcare workers assigned to each.

Despite certain hitches in meeting their target on Saturday, department officials said they are confident of inoculating at least 4,386 healthcare workers in the next round, which is more than seven times Saturday’s target of 600 individuals. “We have registered 3,301 private workers and 1,535 public workers in the next schedule. There were also some server issues with the Co-WIN portal on Saturday, but they have been resolved so we expect Monday’s drive to be a lot smoother,” said Dr MP Singh, district immunisation officer, Gurugram.

“All medical officers have been instructed to counsel their staff on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Personally speaking, I have not experienced any adverse event after immunisation; neither has anyone else who received the vaccine on Saturday. While vaccination isn’t voluntary, it is certainly recommended,” said Singh, adding that nearly 4,600 workers will be inoculated per day, on three days every week, which have been stipulated as involution days — Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

About 46,000 healthcare workers across private and public facilities are expected to receive the vaccine over the next month.

When asked whether the department is taking steps to address vaccine hesitancy among registered beneficiaries, Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurugram, said, “All medical officers have been instructed to speak to their staff. Ensuring them of the vaccine’s safety and efficacy is paramount. The health department has to lead by example. Text messages are also being sent to beneficiaries who did not receive the vaccine on Saturday, whether by choice or some logistical challenge.”

A senior medical officer who is privy to the matter said that lesser vaccine hesitancy is expected among those employed in the private sector. “Private hospitals have been conducting their own dry runs and have assured us that all beneficiaries will come forward. They are also better equipped to communicate with staffers and handle any questions, though we have also been making an effort at that. It will help our own workers to see those in the private sector accept the vaccine,” the official said.

Representatives of private hospitals said they are prepared for the drive.

Dr Sameer Kulkarni, regional director, Paras Hospital, Gurugram, said, “We have made all necessary preparations for the exercise including identification of vaccination sites and registration of healthcare and other front-line workers. Our healthcare staff, who will be vaccinated tomorrow, have been briefed well about the whole exercise.”

Dr Shuchin Bajaj, director, Ujala Cygnus group of hospitals, said, “We have gone through an extensive dry run a few days ago under the supervision of all experts, and have trained our health workers, paramedics and doctors to recognize any adverse events early on and deal with them, if they occur. But, nothing of that sort has been reported from anyone in the January 16 drive. The vaccine looks very safe to me. We have also done the registration of all healthcare workers and other front-line workers for tomorrow’s vaccination drive.”

Dr Tarun Jhamb, consultant (internal medicine) at Columbia Asia Hospital, Palam Vihar, said, “The vaccinations will start on January 18 from 9am and continue till 5pm. We are aiming to inoculate 100 healthcare workers every day.”

District registers 45 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday

Gurugram recorded 45 new cases of the Covid-19 infection on Sunday, along with 75 recoveries and no new deaths. The ongoing slowdown in new daily cases has now entered its tenth straight week, with 249 new cases reported in the week ending January 17 (down from 404 new cases the week prior).

The weekly and daily test positivity rates for Gurugram remains between 2% and 2.5%, with the district testing at least 2,000 new samples for Covid-19 each day. The number of active cases in the district currently stands at a 558, a weekly low, with 497 people under home isolation, and 58 people who have been hospitalised for treatment. Another three individuals are under observation at district Covid care centres. Gurugram reported one new Covid-related death this week, taking the total death count to 349.