Ranchi/Jamshedpur: The registration and inoculation of more 37 lakh beneficiaries above the age of 60 and people with co-morbidities above 45 started across Jharkhand on Monday. As senior citizens flocked to vaccination centres, long queues were seen at various centres and some session sites also experienced technical glitches leading to a delay in the start of the drive.
Dr Ajit Prasad, state nodal officer for vaccination, said, “Any person who will reach the age of 60 on January 1, 2022, will be eligible for vaccination and can register themselves on the CoWIN 2.0 portal. The same goes for people suffering with co-morbidities and reaching 45 years of age. The beneficiaries can book a session through the portal or carry a specific set of documents and get themselves vaccinated at the site.”
He added: “People above 60 years need to carry a photo identity card if they are registering at the session site and they need to follow all the instructions if they book a session through the portal. People above 45 with co-morbidities will have to carry a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner (RMN) and it will be verified by the session site manager before administering the vaccine.”
Notably, the Union health ministry has issued a format that enlists 20 co-morbid conditions, including heart failure, cardiac transplants, congenital heart diseases, and other heart ailments. Patients with diabetes as well as hypertension along with chronic kidney and liver diseases can also get themselves vaccinated. The government has also included persons with disabilities and acid attack victims with involvement of respiratory system in the list.
Prasad said: “After getting their first dose, the beneficiaries will be intimated through text messages about their second dose and they can take the vaccine at the same session site. If they have to make any changes, they can do so on the portal after specifying their reasons as per the GOI directives.”
Meanwhile, a few session sites in capital complained that they faced technical glitches on the first day and had to delay the drive till afternoon as the portal wasn’t accepting registration. “We had to postpone vaccination for several beneficiaries as the portal was facing some technical issues and we have registered them for Tuesday,” said an official at Raj Hospitals in Ranchi.
In Jamshedpur, additional chief medical officer (ACMO) of East Singhbhum district Sahir Pall said, “Several beneficiaries made phone calls after facing difficulties while registering online while others called to enquire about the walk-in process. The vaccination teams found it hard to operate the portal in the initial hours, but things soon got streamlined and the vaccination drive was conducted smoothly at all the community health centres (CHCs) and public health centres (PHCs) in the 10 blocks of the district.”
Of the 26 private hospitals in East Singhbhum empanelled for vaccination, two hospitals — Mercy Hospital in Baridih and Mayank Mrinal Hospital in Mango — have commenced the inoculation drive from Monday, while the rest will start the process from Tuesday.
In the adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district, the vaccination drive for the elderly commenced at eight CHCs on the inaugural day. Eight other PHCs and two private hospitals will join the drive from Tuesday.
District surveillance officer Jhujhar Majhi said 22 private hospitals have been empanelled for the drive but only two — Brahmananda Narayana Multispeciality Hospital (BNMS) in Tamolia and Gangotri Health Care in Adityapur — started giving the jabs on Monday. He added that the centres had the target of vaccinating 100 beneficiaries each on Monday, and only 35% of the target was met till 3pm.