PANAJI: Over 18,000
healthcare workers from the public and private sector have registered for the Covid-19 vaccine, and will be inoculated in the first phrase of the programme.
Deputy director of health services Dr Vandana Dhume said that the department has readied itself in accordance with guidelines issued by the Centre, and that not all the 18,277 would be given the jab on the same day.
The directorate is awaiting further directions from the Centre, and the date on which the programme will start hasn’t been communicated yet, she said.
Of those registered, around 12,500 are from the public sector.
After phase-I, in which healthcare workers will be inoculated, frontline workers will be in phase-II, followed by persons above 50 years of age. However, this last group will further be divided taking into account their co-morbidities.
Meanwhile, collation of data of frontline health workers is underway. Vaccinators have been identified and trained, and storage facilities have been kept ready.
“We have bought syringes and we have our storage ready. We are yet to receive the vaccines,” Dhume said.
Only people who pre-registered on the Co-Win portal will be vaccinated.
The state successfully conducted its first mock dry run last week in North Goa. The second dry run has been scheduled on Friday, which will be held in both districts.
“We haven’t yet selected the session sites for the mock dry-run, but it will be held in North Goa and South Goa,” she said.
Considering the vast exercise that the vaccination programme is set to be, the Centre has directed states and Union territories to rely on the latest electoral roll of the Lok Sabha and legislative assembly elections to identify people aged 50 and above.
Another health official said that considering the knowledge and experience of previous vaccination programmes, Goa should be able to carry out the programme without any hitch.