Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das took stock of the arrangements for COVID-19 vaccination at a steering committee meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
While the government’s target is to administer the vaccine to one-crore population, priority has been accorded to the frontline workforce, which has been battling the pandemic since its outbreak.
First phase
In the first phase, 3.70 lakh healthcare workers in the public and private sectors and staff of the ICDS, and about nine lakh armed forces personnel, State police, home guards, staff of prisons and employees of the Municipal Administration and Revenue departments will be inoculated.
Besides, the vaccine will be given to persons aged above 50 who are suffering from diabetes, hypertension, cancer and lung diseases.
Mr. Das, who is also steering committee chairman, said senior officials, mainly including the Principal Secretaries of the Health and Home departments, would personally monitor the vaccination drive, for which an action plan had already been prepared in tune with the guidelines laid down by the Central government.
Similarly, task forces from the mandal to district levels would closely watch the implementation of the massive programme to ensure that nothing went wrong. Control rooms had been set up to receive complaints and suggestions.
Principal Secretary (health & family welfare) Anil Kumar Singhal said the required manpower and cold chain facilities were readied as per the Central government’s advice.
Health Commissioner K. Bhaskar said 1,677 vaccine storage points, 4,065 cold chain equipment, and 19 insulated vehicles with facility to transport the vaccine at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius were kept ready. Twenty-six more such vehicles would be arranged soon.
The cold chain infrastructure being created would be enough to handle 10 crore doses.
