PUNE: The Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic bodies currently have 90 and 32 cold chain points, respectively, for storing
Covid-19 vaccine vials.
Health department officials from both the civic bodies said they are expecting the addition of more storage points and equipment soon.
Ashish Bharati, head of the PMC’s health department, said the civic body’s storage network included 55 ice-lined refrigerators and 35 deep freezers. Bharati said, “This capacity will be enough to store 4 to 5 lakh doses. But we are not expecting a large volume of vials immediately as the number of healthcare workers who have signed up for priority vaccination — within PMC limits — is around 50,000.” He said the health department was also awaiting more instructions on how the vaccination drive is set to proceed.
“We know that healthcare staff from the civic hospitals will be administered the shot by civic staff. However, it’s unclear if these government vaccinators will be used to vaccinate healthcare workers from the private sector as well. If that’s the case, we will need assistance from private hospitals in the setting up of more vaccination sites in the city.”
Santosh Patil, the additional commissioner of the Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation said the 32 cold chain points in the twin towns hold a total capacity of nearly 2,600 litres.
He said registration of private sector health workers was still on in PCMC limits. So far, Patil said, about 12,000 medical staff have signed up for the priority shot.
Cold chain points are vital for vaccination programmes. Besides storage, they also determine reach and coverage.