To assess the district's preparedness in districts before the actual roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine, a dry run was conducted in Vellore, Tirupathur, Ranipet and Tiruvannamalai districts on Friday morning. Collectors of the respective districts inspected the arrangements.
The COVID-19 dry run has already been conducted at 17 sites in five districts on January 2. According to officials from the health department, all health workers, from private and government, have registered themselves in the CoWIN portal. "The dry run is to ensure the smooth implementation of the actual vaccination process once the vaccine arrives. Each person will get two doses. Those who registered in the portal will get a message about when and which centre to go for getting vaccinated. The vaccinator will also get the intimation about the people who will be visiting the centre," said P. Sumathi, COVID-19 Nodal Officer, Tirupathur district.
On Friday, the health officials checked the efficacy of the process. In Vellore, Tirupathur and Ranipet districts five centres were set up for the dry run and in Tiruvannamalai there were nine. "Each centre had selected 25 beneficiaries for the rehearsal. We checked the design of the rooms meant for waiting, vaccination and observation. The entry and exit are separate," said A. Kanmani, medical officer, Sathuvacheri Urban Primary Health Centre.
She said that after the vaccination is done, the beneficiary will be monitored for any symptoms or complications. "If there are any, we will provide the necessary treatment or else they can go," added Dr. Kamini.
A Shanmuga Sundaram, Vellore collector, said that in Vellore district 50 centres will be set up for vaccination and each one can provide vaccinations for 100 persons per day. "On Friday morning, I checked if the necessary human and material resources are available for the vaccination project. The first priority will be for health workers, then for people above 60 years and then for persons with co-morbidities," he said.
Sandeep Nanduri, Tiruvannamalai collector, said he inspected the dry run process and cold storage facilities meant for storing the vaccine. "We checked the time taken for each beneficiary from the moment he enters the centre to the time the vaccination is completed. The database of health care workers is ready," he said.
