Odisha: COVID vaccine to be provided free of cost to these people

Bhubaneswar: COVID-19 vaccine will be provided to healthcare workers and COVID warriors free of cost in Odisha, informed Health & Family Welfare Minister Naba Das today.

‘The state government has decided to vaccinate doctors, healthcare workers, elderly persons, COVID warriors including employees of municipalities, Health, Electricity, Water Supplies departments free of cost in the first phase,” the minister said.

Das exuded hope that the vaccination drive will commence in Odisha in January.

Around 3.2 lakh people will be vaccinated in the first phase in Odisha after the launch of COVID-19 vaccine in the country, informed Health and Family Welfare Department Director Bijay Kumar Panigrahi.

As many as 8,276 healthcare  workers will be deployed at 29,276 vaccination centers for this purpose. A total of 1796 Ice Lined Refrigerators (ILRs) and 1771 deep freezers have been readied for the vaccination drive, the official said.

He further added that five persons– a vaccinator, a vaccine authority, a verifier, and two supervisors– will be stationed at each vaccination center.

According to the guidelines issued by the Central Government, the latest electoral roll for Lok Sabha and legislative assembly elections will be used to identify the population aged 50 years or more.

Around 100 to 200 people will be vaccinated during each session per day and will then be monitored for 30 minutes pursuant to getting the shots for any adverse event.

A digitized platform for vaccine delivery called Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network or Co-WIN will be used to track enlisted beneficiaries for the vaccination on a real-time basis. Besides, 12 photo-identity documents, including Voter ID, Aadhaar card, driving license, passport and pension document will be required for self-registration on digital platform.

Only pre-registered beneficiaries will be vaccinated at the vaccination site in accordance with the prioritization charted out by the Health Ministry. The guidelines state that there will be no provision for on the-spot registrations.