Health department finalises 181 sites for first phase of Covid-19 vaccination

The district health department has finalised at least 181 session sites for Covid-19 vaccination. Of these, more than 60 percent sites are government and private

The district health department has finalised at least 181 session sites for Covid-19 vaccination. Of these, more than 60 percent sites are government and private schools, where the first phase of the vaccination will be conducted, once the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 virus is rolled out.

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Of the 181 identified sites, at least 93 are government schools, 17 private schools, 31 community centres, 21 private hospitals and eight government facilities. It also includes 11 other sites, such as marriage halls and residential societies.

“Every vaccination site has to be a spacious area, with at least three rooms — one each for waiting, vaccination and observation — to conduct the entire procedure smoothly,” said Dr MP Singh, district immunisation officer. “These 181 sites, which have been finalised, have well-ventilated rooms with separate entry and exit points, while having enough space to maintain social distancing,” he said.

Going by the Covid-19 vaccination guidelines, Singh said that waiting areas need to have adequate seating arrangement to ensure physical distancing. This is because only one person can enter the vaccination room at a time. There has to be a hand-washing or sanitising facility at the entrance to avoid transmission of virus. “Likewise, after the vaccination, the beneficiary will have to wait for 30 minutes in the observation room, for which enough space is required,” said Singh.

According to him, health facilities have been chosen as fixed vaccination sites, whereas community centres, schools, halls have been selected as outreach sites. Based on the priority population identified for Covid-19 vaccination, fixed session sites, such as government health facilities and private hospitals will be used for healthcare workers. For front-line workers and people above 50 years, the vaccination will be administered at outreach session sites like schools, community centres, besides the health facilities.

Since only pre-registered beneficaries will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccination, there will no on-the-spot registration at the vaccination sites, said Singh. Every site will have a team of five vaccination officers, including the vaccinator to administer the vaccine. The vaccination sites will also be linked with nearby the AEFI (adverse event following immunisation) centres in case the beneficiary reports of any negative reactions within 30 minutes of inoculation.

The department has also spotted and finalised upon at least 57 AEFI centres. It includes 19 urban primary health centres, three community health centres, 11 primary health centres in rural areas, Civil Hospital in Sector 10, polyclinic in Sector 31. Besides, over 21 private hospitals have already been designated as AEFI centres.

Singh that in addition to health facilities, ambulances will be stationed near those vaccination sites that might be far from AEFI centres. Earlier this week, the health department held a meeting with the members of the AEFI committee on the Covid-19 vaccination plan.