The government will allow COVID-19 vaccination at public and private workplaces having about 100 eligible beneficiaries. The drive will be launched on April 11 across states and Union Territories; it will be available to people aged 45 years and above.
It is, however, not free as each employee has to pay Rs 250 per dose. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to the chief secretaries said a substantial proportion of the population aged 45 years and above is in the organised sector of the economy and operates from offices in the private and public sector. The idea is to speed up the vaccination drive by bringing them under its ambit.
States can initiate due consultations with private/public sector employers and management to prepare for launch of work place vaccination. No family member or outsider would be allowed to get the shot at the workplace, barring the eligible employee.
Every such centre in government offices will be tagged to the nearest vaccination facility at a government hospital. Similarly, every centre in private offices will be tagged to the nearest vaccination facility at a private hospital.
These designated government and private hospital centres will be responsible for the deployment of vaccination teams and plan vaccination sessions at workplace centres under them. A district task force chaired by the district magistrate and an urban task force chaired by the municipal commissioner will select the workplace.
The workplace management will handpick a senior staffer as the nodal officer to coordinate with the authorities.
