First phase of Covid-19 vaccination will be completed within 10 days of receiving vaccines: Maharashtra govt

With the approval of two Covid-19 vaccines for restricted emergency use, the state health department is now gearing up for the mass immunisation process. Officials

With the approval of two Covid-19 vaccines for restricted emergency use, the state health department is now gearing up for the mass immunisation process. Officials said the first phase of the vaccination will be completed within 10 days of receiving the vaccines from the central government.

Healthcare workers during Covid-19 screening and swab test at Goregaon. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Expecting a roll-out of the vaccines by next month, the state health department has so far trained 16,000 vaccinators for the immunisation programme. They will be responsible for providing the vaccine to the 12 lakh healthcare workers including doctors, nurses, ASHA workers, Anganwadi, among others in the first phase.

“One vaccinator can vaccinate around 100 people each day. So, we would take a maximum of 10 days to complete the first phase of the vaccination. We have enough manpower to vaccinate one lakh healthcare workers every day,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer.

So far, 7.50 lakh healthcare workers have registered themselves on the CoWIN app, which has been developed by the Centre to track vaccination and dosage.

“Since the last 10 days, the registration has slowed down. So, we have decided to keep the registration process open,” he said.

‘We are well prepared’

Dr Archana Patil, director of health services also said the team is well qualified and trained to provide the vaccine. Every year, the immunisation department vaccinates around 20 lakh children, in addition to vaccinating 30 lakh pregnant women under prenatal programmes. “Overall, every year, we provide over 1.30 crore dosages. Our latest example was Rubella vaccination when we vaccinated around three crore children within three months. So, we hold practical experience in the immunisation process,” said Dr Patil.

“The only new thing for the vaccinators will be to immunise adults. So, we also have to train them how to handle beneficiaries if they develop any discomfort,” said Dr Awate.

The health department has identified 2,500 healthcare centres as vaccination points. “Depending on the need, we will extend the vaccination points. We have 2,500 healthcare centres for use. Along with that, if we need more centres, we can also ask the corporations to find places,” said Dr Patil.