HUBBALLI: The district administration is all set to launch a
survey of vulnerable groups of people who need
vaccine shots in the third phase of inoculation.
District DCH Officer Dr SM Honakeri told STOI: “We’re awaiting guidelines to start a survey of vulnerable people who are at high risk of contracting the
Covid-19 infection. The administration may rope in
ASHA and
anganwadi workers for the survey.”
Dr Honakeri added that the government intends to administer the vaccine to people in the age group of 22 and 50 having comorbidities and people who are above 50 years.
“We have a rough estimate that there may be around 6.5 lakh people in this group. The exact figures will emerge only after the survey. If required, we could rope in staff of other departments to quickly finish the survey,” he added.
Officials believe that the
vaccines are likely to be available for the public in the last week of January. Since three or four manufacturers have developed vaccines, and it needs to be given twice at an interval, they may have to be given the shot developed by a single manufacturer. “The district will be provided a vaccine developed by a single company,” he said.
In the first phase, doctors, nurses and paramedical staff working in both government and private hospitals would be vaccinated, while employees of municipal corporations and police personnel will be inoculated in the second phase.
“The administration has identified warehouses to store the
vaccine boxes, and ice-lined refrigerators will be used to store it at the correct temperature. The state government is providing 31 ice-lined refrigerators,” officials said.