Delhi govt calls out to clinics to enrol their staff for Covid vaccination

According to the draft prioritisation plan of the national expert group on vaccine administration for Covid-19, 30 million front-line workers will be the first to receive the vaccine once it becomes available.

The Delhi government on Friday made a public call to all small and independent clinics, both registered and unregistered, to enrol their staff for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination drive. The clinics have been given a day to register their staff for the nationwide drives that will happen once a vaccine is approved.

The Delhi government’s notice comes two days after the United Kingdom approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Pfizer and BioNTech. UK is the first country to do so and the vaccine will be available in Britain from next week, according to a statement from the UK government.(REUTERS (Representative Image))

The government has already collected human resources data from the registered hospitals and nursing homes in the city. There are over 57,000 hospitals, nursing homes and maternity centres across the city as per Delhi’s latest Economic Survey 2020.

HT had reported In October that the state government, on the Centre’s directive, had started creating a database of 13 categories of health care workers covering both private and government hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics.

According to the draft prioritisation plan of the national expert group on vaccine administration for Covid-19, 30 million front-line workers will be the first to receive the vaccine once it becomes available.

The Delhi government’s notice comes two days after the United Kingdom approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Pfizer and BioNTech. UK is the first country to do so and the vaccine will be available in Britain from next week, according to a statement from the UK government.

“Health care workers includes medical, paramedical, supporting, security, sanitation, and administrative staff of all allopathic, dental, AYUSH, physiotherapy clinics, diagnostic laboratories, radiology centres and other health care settings,” the public notice read.

The clinics – as yet exempt from registration with the government under any rules or regulations – can upload data of their staff by requesting a Login ID on the Delhi state health mission website (dshm.delhi.gov.in). “This data will not be used for any other purpose apart from Covid-19 vaccination,” the notice assured.

The government already has cold storage networks, vials, syringes and other logistical requirements needed for a vaccination drive available under the universal immunisation programme. Currently, vaccines under the universal immunisation programme are given at 640 “fixed points”, or delivery centres such as government dispensaries.

The government is also looking to create a cold storage centre at the Rajiv Gandhi Superspeciality hospital in Tahirpur, where a 5,000 square metre facility has been earmarked for it and is being retrofitted with freezers and power backup. This is in addition to an existing cold storage facility available at Civil Lines that can store up to 5 million doses of any drug at a temperature ranging between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius – the temperature requirement for most vaccines given under the universal immunisation programme.

“We have the infrastructure to roll out the vaccine to the entire population of Delhi in a few weeks. We have facilities like mohalla clinics, poly clinics and dispensaries to dispense the vaccine. The road map for vaccination will be developed by the Centre. However, most of the vaccines can be stored in thermocol boxes filled with dry ice; so storage will not be a problem,” said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain in a press briefing on Friday.

“A vaccine essentially injects a form of the virus in a small quantity into your body to fight the virus. For people who have already recovered from Covid-19, their body has produced antibodies naturally so they do not have to be vaccinated in the first phase,” he said.

Delhi has been battling a surge in infection and on Friday reported 4,067 fresh cases, taking the tally of total cases to 586,125. Of these, 28,252 are active cases, while 548,376 have recovered, and 9,497 have lost their lives, according to the Delhi government’s health bulletin.