Over 93,000 police personnel to get COVID jab in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Telangana will start the Covid-19 vaccination drive for nearly 1,88,402 frontline workers on February 6. As per officials, the vaccination drive will be held in primary health centres (PHCs), area hospitals and certain tertiary care hospitals. Major police grounds and hospitals will also double up as vaccination centres.

The vaccination drive will start with the police force and cover over 93,000 personnel including those from the Fire and Prisons departments. On the first day, around 5,000 police personnel from Hyderabad city police and a 1,000 more from other districts will be vaccinated.  

The details of all targeted beneficiaries have already been uploaded on the CoWIN app. One day before the vaccination, the beneficiary will receive an SMS.

“We will be vaccinating the staff with Covishield vaccine. On Saturday, the vaccination target is 7,800 policemen in Hyderabad. From Monday or Tuesday, other frontline workers from municipalities will also be vaccinated,” said Dr J Venkati, DMHO, Hyderabad.  

Meanwhile, as the State concludes vaccinating healthcare workers (HCWs) in government and private set up, around 1,93,485 HCWs have been vaccinated, which is 58 per cent of the targeted number. On Friday alone 5,388 were vaccinated against the target of 15,245. 

Like many people, police personnel also have apprehensions about taking the vaccine. “While it is suggested to take the shot, we also advise our staff, especially those with comorbidities, to consult their doctors and assess suitability for the vaccine,” said an official. The 93,000 targeted personnel include 73,000 from different wings in the department and 16,800 home guards, among others.