Ranchi: In order to improve turnout in the ongoing vaccination drive for those aged 45 and above, the state health department will organise a special inoculation drive in four phases in the next two weeks.
As part of the drive, a Covid-19 vaccination centre (CVC) will be set up in every panchayat. The department plans to organise the first phase of the special drive on April 4 and 5, the second phase on April 7 and 8, the third phase on April 10 and 11 and the fourth phase will be organised on April 13 and 14.
In a letter circulated among all the 24 DCs on Thursday, health secretary K K Soan directed them to complete all the required arrangements before the special drive begins. The letter has also directed them to ensure maximum coverage on April 7 which is World Health Day.
Soan has asked them to mobilize self-help group members in identifying and tagging the beneficiaries to their respective session sites. He also suggested involving the public sector undertakings (PSUs), private establishments and non-government organizations (NGOs) in the drive for maximum participation.
According to a senior health department official, NGOs and PSUs will be roped in to assist the district administrations in ferrying the elderly and those who are unable to travel to session sites located far away from their homes, thus leading to a low turnout.
Dr Ajit Prasad, the state nodal officer for the vaccination drive, said, “Around 3,400 session sites are functional at the moment and that number will go up before the special drive commences.”
Asked how they are going to transport vaccines to CVCs located in areas which are not easily accessible, Dr Prasad said cold chain points have been assigned to every district and each CVC will be provided with vaccine carriers which can hold the vials for 12 hours. “The vials will be dispatched to each centre in an ice pack conditioned insulated vaccine carrier which has a hold-over time of more than 12 hours,” he added.
The health department has asked all the DCs to raise awareness in rural areas regarding the special drive and publicise the location of the CVCs at least three days prior to its launch. The block-level officials, in co-ordination with the welfare department, have been asked to carry out the IEC activities and help out the elderly beneficiaries in taking the shot.