KOLKATA: Hospitals across the city have started listing the names of their healthcare workers ahead of the rollout of the precautionary dose of Covid vaccine on Monday.
The all-India drive for precautionary dose will start with healthcare workers, frontline workers and senior citizens.
The state on Friday also received a directive from the Union health ministry on the third dose rollout. “We have got the directive on the precautionary dose roll from the Union health ministry and it is being shared will all stakeholders for their reference. Anyone from the three categories of priority group—healthcare and frontline workers and senior citizens—wants free vaccine, will get it from government vaccination centres,” said state family welfare officer Ashim Das Malakar. Around 5 lakh healthcare workers, 7 lakh frontline workers and 1.1 crore senior citizens are expected to take the third dose in Bengal.
“We were waiting for the guideline for some clarity. Now that it has come and we will start inoculating our own hospital staff from Monday,” said a source at AMRI group of Hospitals.
“We will hold a camp on January 10, 11, 12 for the vaccination for our healthcare workers and for senior citizens at the hospital vaccination site. Covishield will be administered. From the next day, we will conduct the drive from the vaccination centre at La Martiniere School with both Covishield and Covaxin vaccines,” said Belle Vue CEO Pradip Tondon. The hospital has about 2,000 healthcare workers.
According to the protocol, a nine-month gap is required between the second dose and the precautionary shot.
All healthcare workers cutting across private and public sector had received their first and second doses free of cost. But this time, no dose will be supplied free to private hospitals. The private facilities will buy the precautionary doses of the vaccine for it healthcare workers. “We have started shortlisting healthcare workers who received their second dose nine month ago or before. About 90% of our 6,500 workforce across three Hospitals—RN Tagore, Narayana Howrah and the Barasat unit—will fall into this category. We have also identified separate space from where the third dose will be rolled out. We wish to cover this booster drive for our healthcare workers within a week,” said R Venkatseh, regional director (East) Narayana Health.
“We have about 1,700 healthcare workers, from doctors to housekeeping staff, ambulance drivers and electricians. We will try to vaccinate all in the shortest time,” said Peerless CEO Sudipta Mitra.
At Infectious Diseases & Beliaghata General (ID&BG) Hospital, queries have been pouring in not only from healthcare and frontlin workers, but also from senior citizens who wants to be sure of getting the shot before visiting the hospital vaccination centre on Monday. “People have been calling up, asking about the requirements, such as the mandatory gap between the second and this dose, if they need to carry their second dose vaccination certificate and whether on-spot registration would be available,” said community medicine specialist Baisakhi Maji, nodal person for vaccination at ID&BG.
