JAIPUR: While a few states have already received the Covid-19 vaccines, Rajasthan will start receiving its supply on Wednesday.
According to the
ministry of health and family welfare, the state will receive 5,43,500 doses of the Covishield vaccine, supplied by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and 60,000 doses of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech. “We will receive it on Wednesday. Preparations have been completed for vaccination in the state,” said Siddhartha Mahajan, health secretary.
In the initial phase, priority beneficiaries, including healthcare workers, central government officials and armed forces, will be inoculated. The Centre has asked the state to ensure quick transport to the last mile of cold chain points as per the beneficiary load.
“We are ready to launch the drive from January 16,” said Dr Laxman Singh Ola, director, family welfare, who inspected the state-level vaccine storage centre at Sethi Colony in Jaipur.
“We have prepared our cold chain for vaccine storage. We will quickly and safely transport the same,” said Dr Ola.
Health secretary Mahajan has written to all district collectors, superintendents of police, chief medical health officers to ensure safe transport across the state.
The vaccine will be handed over to state authorities at Jaipur airport and received in the presence of chief medical health officer and senior officials of the Rajasthan Administrative Services. It will then be transported to the state vaccine store under police escort. Health department officials will take charge of the storage at the state-level centre.
The vaccine will be taken to various district headquarters in a van with two drivers, deputy chief health officer or block chief medical health officer under police escort.
It will be supplied to cold chain points from district storage centres. At all cold chain points, it will remain under police protection.
In Jaipur, which has one of the three state-level vaccine storage centres, the facility can store 24,000 litres of the vaccine under 2 degrees to 8 degrees Celcius, required for proper storage.
“Since it's the first phase of vaccination, we need to be extra alert," a senior health department official said.