Ludhiana: If all goes well, Ludhiana will get Covid-19 vaccine around Christmas. But, it will be administered to health-care and anganwadi workers first. The health department has set up a cold chain for its storage.
In the first meeting of 16-member district task force of Covid-19 vaccine committee held on October 10, deputy commissioner Varinder Sharma had apprised them of the possibility of vaccine arriving by December 25.
Ludhiana Indian Medical Association (IMA) president Dr Sunil Katyal, who attended the meeting, confirmed the same.
The DC told The Times of India that they were hopeful of vaccines arriving by December 25.
“The government of India has made a portal on which data of only health-care, anganwadi and Asha workers is being uploaded. Of the frontline workers, healthcare and anganwadi workers will get the vaccine first and employees of all the departments, including police and civil administration, among others, will be covered later,” the DC said.
Officials said those who would get vaccine in the initial stages have been divided into three categories: frontline workers, people above 50 years and those below 50 years with co-morbidities. “After healthcare, anganwadi and Asha workers, the next two categories will be registered and inoculated later on,” they added.
“The vaccination timeline will depend on the number of vaccines Punjab gets and from it, Ludhiana,” said an officer who is part of the task force.
Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said they have compiled the data of healthcare workers and a cold chain has been set up.
Another officer of the health department said they had a special vaccine carrying van that would bring those from the state health department. He added that the district immunisation officer has been made the nodal officer for the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
The officials said it was expected that the common man in Ludhiana would start getting inoculated from February.
Bagga had informed the DC during the October 10 meeting that the health department has registered the names of around 15,000 healthcare workers and the process of uploading the details of beneficiaries was underway. They have set up 67 cold-chain points and have adequate number of ice-lined refrigerators and deep freezers to preserve the vaccine. He had said that there would be 805 session sites, where vaccines would be administered to the beneficiaries in the district. As many as 442 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) would administer it and 43 supervisors have been deputed to monitor the process.