Covid-19: Uttar Pradesh to finish vaccinating all health workers by Feb 5 in phase 1

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to complete the Covid-19 vaccination of all the health workers on four days — January 28 and 29, February 4 and 5.

The vaccination of the frontline workers will commence from February 11.

The state Health and Family Welfare Department has planned to vaccinate around 900,000 health workers in the first phase.

The department had organised two rounds of vaccination on January 16 and 22 during which 123,649 health workers have been vaccinated. The remaining 775,000 or so health workers will be vaccinated in the four rounds to be organised at the end of January and beginning of February.

Additional chief secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Department, Amit Mohan Prasad said, in the next two weeks the Health and Family Welfare Department will organise four rounds of vaccination drive across the state.

The state government has fixed each Thursday and Friday of the week as Covid-19 vaccination days. In the coming four rounds, they have decided to vaccinate all the health workers who have not received the dose yet, he said.

In the earlier vaccination round held on January 16, the Health Department had aimed to vaccinate 31,700 health workers. However, 22,643 health workers turned up for vaccination.

Again, on January 22, the Health Department had planned to vaccinate 150,000 health workers but only 101,000 health workers were given the jabs.

Prasad said the health workers should utilise their turn by getting themselves vaccinated. “They should know that there is a limited stock of the Covid vaccine in the country,” he said.

“A number of people wish to get themselves vaccinated but the central government has set a priority order for the vaccination. According to it, those people who are vulnerable to Covid-19, who come in contact with infected people while imparting their duties and those who provide treatment to the Covid-19 patients will be vaccinated on priority basis. The health workers should take benefit of the government scheme and get themselves vaccinated. If they miss the vaccine dose then their turn will take a long time,” he said

In the second phase, the state government has decided to give the dose to 1.8 million frontline workers in the 75 districts.

Prasad said the health department has started preparation for completing the vaccination of the health workers in four rounds. “We have adequate vaccines in the cold chains across the state, the vaccinators are trained, the vaccination centres are equipped, and the date of the health workers is being updated regularly on the Co-Win portal. The department plans to organise over 7,000 vaccination sessions at 1,537 vaccination centers in the 75 districts,” he said.

When asked about the low turnout of the health workers in some districts during the first and second round, Prasad said the district magistrates and chief medical officers of the districts that recorded low turnout had been directed to take required measures to increase the turnout. The district medical officers had been told to motivate the health workers to take vaccine dose to protect themselves from Covid-19 infection, he said.