13,000 healthcare workers in Gujarat to get Covid-19 vaccination shots today

After a gap of three days, a batch of 13,000-odd healthcare workers (HCW) would get Covid-19 vaccination on Tuesday. On January 16, the first day of nation-wide vaccination drive – 12,320 in Gujarat received the shot. Several prominent doctors from private and government hospitals were among the recipients of the first dose of vaccine.

Dr Nayan Jani, state immunization officer, told sources that about 13,000 registered HCWs would get the vaccine on Tuesday according to the schedule. “The number of vaccination sites would remain the same at 161. However, the district or municipal corporation administration can decide on the infrastructure based on their requirement,” he said.

He added that based on national guidelines, the state would carry out Covid-19 vaccination for four days a week. “The vaccination would not take place on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday every week. The days are reserved for regular vaccination for other diseases,” said Dr Jani.

The beneficiaries were informed through CoWIN software on Monday, said state health department officials, claiming that they had faced no connectivity issue on Friday.

Every centre would administer 100 vaccines a day in the initial phase to give adequate time to the recipients to report any adverse impact, and also get acquainted with the system. “If needed, the number of vaccination centres would be increased in the future,” said MA Pandya, mission director, National Health Mission (NHM), Gujarat.

“The system is in place to ensure that every person getting vaccinated would get the second dose of the same vaccine after 28 days. The storage and procurement would take place accordingly.” The district-level units are asked to mobilize HCWs for maximum participation. Across the country, the number of participants have remained around 60 to 75%, said senior officials.