E-Paper
18-member task force formed for vaccination programme in Pune district
Team will be headed by district collector and representatives from Indian Medical Association, among others.
PUNE In the first meeting to formulate a strategy to conduct the first of its kind massive Covid-19 vaccination programme, the district administration has begun by forming a district task force. An 18-member team has been formed to look into this massive vaccination programme.
The team will be headed by district collector and representatives from Indian Medical Association (IMA), among others.
Although the Covid-19 vaccine is not finalised yet, there would be two doses of 0.5 ml which would be given in an interval of 28 days, said civic officials.
All the healthcare workers who were earlier asked to be registered under the vaccine beneficiary programme would be prioritised, reiterated district collector. The number of such healthcare workers is also huge and so the task force would strategise the vaccination drive which would also include help from police forces.
Healthcare workers from 98,38 health facilities would be registered under the central government out of which all the government hospital staff has been registered, however, staff from about 1,720 private hospitals in the PMC area have not yet shared the required data, said, officials.
Rajesh Deshmukh, district collector, said, “We are still filling in the database for the healthcare workers who would be finalised for the first dose of the vaccine. This would include MBBS doctors and also the nursing staff who will later vaccinate the general public.”
“Today (on Monday) we had representatives from all the three cantonment boards, police, education officers, WHO and also the district health officers present for the meeting. We do not know which vaccine would be finalised but this meeting was to form the task force and finalise the tasks for all of the members who would ensure that this massive vaccination drive is completed smoothly,” he said.
Another health official on condition of anonymity said, “We would prioritise vaccination for healthcare workers as decided earlier. We have the existing facilities from our polio or measles-rubella vaccination including the required ice boxes, ice lined refrigerator, deep freezer, cold boxes and also vaccine carriers.”
“We have schools where the vaccination can be carried out. We would need three rooms one for pre-vaccination isolation, the vaccination room and then the post-vaccination room wherein those administered the vaccine would be examined for 30-45 minutes,” he said.
“We would need the help of private hospitals too since this would be a mammoth task to vaccinate the entire district. We do not know the exact number of doses that the city would get and whether or not all residents will be eligible for it, but the number of those to be vaccinated would be in lakhs which needs to be done in the shortest possible time and so we are roping in all possible agencies to ensure that the task is completed smoothly. Even the police are in the loop to avoid overcrowding at the vaccination centres,” said the official.
The front line workers who would be prioritised include nursing staff, MBBS doctors, allopathy doctors, medical college and research centre staff, sanitisation workers, ambulance drivers and clerical staff from both government and private hospital. Those health staff who will later vaccinate general public will also undergo training for the same.
