NEW DELHI: A
dry run of Covid-19
vaccination will be conducted at several facilities in Delhi on Wednesday. These include
Hindu Rao and Kasturba hospitals in north Delhi and Maternity and Child Welfare Centre at Sriniwaspuri.
North Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Jai Prakash said: “We have converted the swine flu ward at Hindu Rao
Hospital into
Covid-19 vaccination centre. Seating arrangements for 35 people have been made. We will call them in batches to avoid rush. Some health workers will participate in the dry run tomorrow and we will follow all the guidelines issued for the vaccine rollout.”
A north corporation official said that a team from District Disaster Management Authority visited the facilities on Tuesday to ensure everything was in place.
In south Delhi, preparations for the dry run were completed at Sriniwaspuri, Defence Colony, Bijwasan and Fatehpur Beri facilities.
Altogether 621 sites located in Delhi and central government hospitals, polyclinics and dispensaries across 11 districts of the capital have been identified where
vaccination booths are being created for people to get Covid shots.
The sites are being managed by nodal officers. Each of these sites consists of three separate rooms/sections-- verification room, vaccination room and observation rooms.
“Vaccination booths will also be created in private hospitals, which have more than 100 healthcare workers and are located close to the 621 sites. A total of 603 cold chain points are located at the identified sites. We are giving final touches to the preparations for the vaccine rollout,” said Dr Suneela Garg, director-professor of community medicine at Maulana Azad Medical College and Covid-19 taskforce member for the Delhi vaccination programme.
Delhi will have a total of 1,000 vaccination booths.
At the vaccination booth located in GTB Hospital, educational posters on Covid welcome the visitors. In the block, one area has been separated by light blue curtains to create a large observation area. Five three-seater steel benches have been placed in the observation room with ‘no use’ markings on the middle seat. Located next to it is a vaccination room.
Each booth will be managed by five vaccination officers. The credentials of each of the beneficiary will be verified in the verification room soon after they arrive. Then the beneficiary will be directed to the vaccination room where they will get the Covid shot and then they will spend 30 minutes under observation to ensure that there is no side effect. Emergency treatment measures will also be in place.