KOLKATA: Two hundred city cops — led by commissioner of police Anuj Sharma and other senior Kolkata Police officers — along with a host of other cops from multiple police stations will take the first shot of Covid-19
vaccine at Kolkata Police Hospital on Monday.
Though vaccination of cops and other
frontline workers had begun in the state from last Thursday, in Kolkata, the drive will begin on Monday.
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Cops have been at the forefront of the city’s struggle against Covid. They were forced to handle entirely avoidable street agitations when the city was passing through its worst Covid caseload; simultaneously, they also donated plasma for other Covid victims. We hope that this phase of the vaccination process gets done seamlessly.
“Ten vaccination sites will be selected in the city where we have a target of vaccinating 2,000 cops every day. However, on Monday, we will start with only one site at Kolkata Police Hospital. The number of sites will slowly be raised over this week,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.
Outgoing city police commissioner Anuj Sharma, who is set to take the first
jab, said: “I will be taking the vaccine, along with hundreds of my colleagues, to make it a point that it’s safe to take the vaccine and all of us should take it when our turn comes. Kolkata Police has worked very hard against Covid from the forefront and on the eve of my departure from Kolkata Police I wish the members of the force all the best. But remember despite taking the vaccine we have to take due care and follow precautions of wearing masks, maintaining social distance and using sanitizer all the time.”
At the 116-year-old hospital in Bhowanipore, giving multispecialty health services to Kolkata Police, Bengal Police and other allied forces such as CRPF, EFR and fire services department, the buzz was unmistakable on the eve of drive as hospital officials conducted last-minute checks.
On Sunday, meetings were held with monitoring teams and emergency medical teams to ensure prompt action in case of any emergency. A separate team looked into internet connectivity and power back-up.