Govt reviews COVID19 vaccination plan in Jammu and Kashmir

Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev RaiBhatnagar chaired the meeting to review the arrangements for smooth implementation of coronavirus vaccination plan in J&K.

Speaking during the meeting, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the officials for effective planning beforehand, and compile the database of potential vaccinators, prioritised groups of beneficiaries to be administered the vaccine in its initial stages well in advance so that no bottlenecks are faced during vaccination drives.

Regarding the transportation and handling of the vaccines, he directed the officials that robust mechanism should be put in place for smooth transportation of vaccines.

The advisor asked them to prioritise the transportation arrangements for hilly as well as snow-bound areas.

To effectively deliver the vaccines at the grass-root level, Advisor Bhatnagar impressed upon the officers that inter-sectoral convergence between the frontline workers of various departments including Health, Social Welfare, School Education, Rural Development, and Housing and Urban Development was a must for the successful implementation of COVID19 vaccination plan.

Highlighting the need for maintaining an open and transparent communication with the public to curb misinformation and rumours, he asked the officials to launch Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities on a mass scale so that timely and effective information reaches out to the public.

The advisor also asked the department to develop a robust database to assess auxiliary requirements such as additional cold chain equipment and waste bags for biomedical waste management and prepare plans for cold chain installation sites.

Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education, AtalDulloo said that the vaccine would be available in next 10 days besides communication strategy as per the MoHFW guidelines had already been finalised.

He said that district-level trainings had already been imparted and required workforce been prepared for effective implementation of the vaccination plan. Director Health Services Jammu DrRenu Sharma said that under phase-1 around 28 lakh persons would be vaccinated starting from healthcare workers both in government and private establishments, frontline workers including revenue officials, Anganwadi workers, armed forces, home guards, Police, volunteers, municipal workers, prioritized age group of persons above the age of 50 years and persons with co-morbidities.

She said that 586 cold chain points had been established for vaccine storage besides sufficient vaccine carriers been made available for transportation of vaccines for the first phase. Mission Director NHM, Bhupinder Kumar; Managing Director J&K Medical Supplies Corporation, DrYashpal Sharma, State Immunisation Officer DrQaziHaroon and other officials participated in the meeting through video conferencing.