'Dry run' of COVID-19 vaccination begins in Mumbai and Thane
By Lokmat English Desk | Published: January 8, 2021 04:10 PM2021-01-08T16:10:00+5:302021-01-08T16:10:00+5:30
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A dry run campaign for COVID-19 vaccination is being implemented in 30 districts and 25 municipal areas of the state today. Three dry runs will be conducted in each district and one in each municipal area including Mumbai's Cooper Hospital.
A team of five people including vaccinators will be present for the dry run in each centre. Preparations have been made across the district with enough provisions to store the vaccines and manpower for the drive in both rural and urban areas.
Thane district will conduct a vaccine dry run at three places on Friday – Thane Civil Hospital, Diva and Shahapur.
Preparations have been made across the district with enough provisions to store the vaccines and manpower for the drive in both rural and urban areas.
Dr Kailas Pawar, civil surgeon, Thane district, said, “There are five trained personnel in each of the three centres who will execute the dry run on Friday. Based on our experience in these places, we shall submit a report to the State Health Department. We have made all the necessary preparations. Rooms have been made available for this purpose in these areas. Additionally, we have some staff present at the centres if need be.”
As per the state guidelines, a minimum of 25 beneficiaries will visit the centre for the dry run. Preparations have been made for separate entry and exit points at these centres. First, the beneficiaries will be registered and then taken to the vaccination booth. There will be an observation room as well where they will be kept for half-an-hour to ensure there are no after-effects of the vaccination. All of this will be done in a mock process on Friday.
The beneficiaries will receive an alert through messages and will have to arrive for the dry run as per the time mentioned. “The main aim of the dry run is to understand the preparedness and the time taken to follow all the protocols.
“The result of the dry run will help us plan for the actual drive. As of now, we have planned 850 vaccination centres across the district. There will be 100 vaccines administered in each centre across the district on a daily basis. Those who get an alert through the app will be given the vaccine,” added Pawar.
Provisions have been made for vaccine storage across the district with 190 ice-lined refrigerators, 197 deep freezers, 199 cold boxes, 26,530 ice packs and 4,814 carriers.
Across Thane district, there are 66,447 frontline workers who have registered online. Most are from within Thane city. There are around 846 vaccinators who will administer the vaccine.
According to the district health department officers, Thane city has the highest number of frontline workers within the district. There will be an increased number of vaccination centres within Thane city and the civil hospital in Thane will be one of the immunisation centres where the first round of vaccination will take place.
The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) will also conduct a dry run on Friday at Rosa Gardenia Health Centre on Ghodbunder Road. TMC has made provisions for a waiting room, registration centre, vaccination room and observation room for convenience. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has organised a dry run for the vaccine at the civic-run Nerul Mother and Child Hospital on Friday. The NMMC has geared up with 5,905 litre capacity of 95 cold storage facilities for the vaccine.
