NT NETWORK
Panaji
The health services directorate on Thursday distributed doses of COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’ to the vaccination programme centres, which are well-equipped with cold storage facilities.
The centres, which currently don’t have ice-lined refrigerators, have been told that they will be provided with the doses with all precautions in the morning of January 16 – the day when the COVID vaccination programme will be launched in the state and also across the country.
“Vaccine doses have been dispatched to some of the seven centres that have met the criteria as far as the cold storage facilities are concerned. We have given 110 doses each of Covishield to the centres that have ice-lined refrigerators. These 110 doses are only for the first day of immunisation,” a source at DHS told ‘The Navhind Times’.
As many as 100 vaccinations will be done at the seven centres in a day, which amounts to 700 vaccinations per day. Additional 10 doses of Covishield have been provided, in case if there is ‘wastage’.
The first consignment of 23,500 doses of Covishield arrived in Goa early Wednesday morning from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India.
The source said that auto-disable syringes, information, education and communication (IEC) materials, hub cutters and other paraphernalia have been provided to all the seven vaccination programme centres.
The government hospitals identified for the vaccination are: Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim, Hospicio Hospital in Margao, North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa, Chicalim health centre and sub-district hospital at Ponda.
The private hospitals are: Dona Paula-based Manipal Hospital and Healthway Hospital at Old Goa.
The designated supervisors visited the sites on Thursday to check for the preparedness ahead of the launch of vaccination administration.
Both the district collectors have been requested to provide security to all the centres.
PTI ADDS FROM NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 via video conferencing and adequate doses of the two made-in-India vaccines have been delivered to all states and Union territories, the government said on Thursday.
This will be the world’s largest vaccination programme covering the entire length and breadth of the country and all preparations are in place to initiate the programme on the principles of ‘Jan Bhagidari’, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Modi will launch the pan-India rollout of the COVID vaccination drive on January 16 at 10:30 am via video conferencing, the PMO said.
A total of 3,006 session sites across all states and UTs will be virtually connected during the launch and around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on the first day, the statement said.
Separately, sources said Modi is likely to interact via video link with some healthcare workers from across the country who will be receiving the shots on the first day.
Officials at New Delhi’s AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals, which are among the shortlisted facilities, said they are “ready for a two-way communication”.
The PMO statement said the vaccination programme is based on principles of priority groups to be vaccinated first. Healthcare workers, both in the government and private sectors, including Integrated Child Development Services workers, will receive the vaccine during this phase.
The Drugs Controller General of India had earlier this month approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously-developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive.
The vaccination programme will use Co-WIN, an online digital platform developed by the Union health ministry, which will facilitate real-time information of vaccine stocks, storage temperature and individualised tracking of beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccine.
This digital platform will assist programme managers across all levels while conducting vaccination sessions, the PMO said.
A dedicated 24×7 call centre – 1075 – has also been established for addressing the queries related to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine rollout and the Co-WIN software.