PUNE: After
healthcare workers, the PMC has started the registration process for
frontline staff for the second phase of the
Covid vaccination drive in the city.
An estimated 10,000 workers — from essential services such as sanitation, the fire brigade and the police units — are expected to sign up for the shots, officials said. Sunil Indalkar, deputy commissioner (general administration), PMC, said, “We are going to ensure that every frontline worker — including those on contract — gets the vaccine. We will get to know exact numbers soon. The vaccination drive remains voluntary.”
The city’s chief vaccination officer Amit Shah said, “It’s a sort of dry run for logistics before the mass vaccination phase in Pune. Every department will collate, compile and upload the data of their frontline staff on the government portal.”
The Union government plans to include nearly one crore health workers in the first batch of beneficiaries, whenever a vaccine is approved for use in India. This will be followed by nearly two crore frontline workers.
The third batch is expected to include nearly 27 crore senior citizens from across the country.
Sanjay Patil, vice-president of the Indian Medical Association in the state said, “Vaccination of frontline workers against Covid will help to run key services, thereby reducing the economic impact.”
So far, PMC officials have registered a total of 45,143 healthcare workers from government and private hospitals within its limits. They include doctors, nurses, paramedics, and non-medical staff including security, cleaning and administration personnel.