KOLKATA: The state health department, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and private healthcare groups are gearing up to administer booster doses from Monday.
This time, those eligible for the shot need not register on Co-Win. All they need to do is seek an appointment or schedule the vaccine date on the portal or walk into any CVC for the jab. No senior citizen needs a co-morbidity certificate to get the shot.
Hospitals cutting across government and private sectors will be rolling out the booster dose from Monday while the KMC health department will offer the shots at its urban primary health centres in 144 wards. Along with healthcare and frontline workers, senior citizens who had received the second dose nine months ago are eligible for this one.
Though the infrastructure for the private sector appears to be ready for the new inoculation drive, the KMC health department is struggling to cope as over 200 KMC doctors and para-medical staffers have recently tested positive for Covid and are spending an isolation period at home.
According to sources in the KMC health department, besides invading the civic body’s headquarters, the virus has also affected several executive health officials, medical officers, nurses and other para-medical staffers in the borough level. “At present, we are running short of 200 trained healthcare professionals, both at the headquarters and on the borough level. So, when we open our urban primary health centres for the senior citizens on Monday, we shall be keeping our fingers crossed. Any further deterioration in the situation will definitely lead to cancellation of the vaccination programme at the worst-hit boroughs,” said a KMC health department official.
However, the city’s pri-vate healthcare system has assured a hassle-free service from Monday.
“For those who cannot book the appointment online on the portal, we request them to bring their vaccination certificates. We are telling senior citizens who are calling up that nine months should have elapsed after they took the second dose,” said Sudipta Mitra, Peerless Hospital CEO.
“Our team is ready for the Monday roll-out at four CVCs on Monday. We have two on-site centres — the hospital and our vaccina-tion centre on Alipore Road — and two off-site ones — Quest Mall and IMI campus. We have pulled out the eligible recipients’ list from our database and they have been communicated with accordingly. In addition to the 60-plus recipients, we will be inoculating our own healthcare workers numbering about 2,000 along with frontline workers,” said Rupali Basu, MD and CEO, Woodlands Hospital.
Meanwhile, Firhad Hakim has called for all-inclusive vaccination for children aged between 12-18. “This is the need of the hour. I will write to the Union health ministry in this regard,” he said.
