The district has an estimated population of 5 to 6 lakh people aged between 45 and 60 years with co-morbidities and people over the age of 60, who will soon be prioritised to receive the vaccine for COVID-19.
People who fall in this category would be able to download and register themselves on the Co-WIN app from March 1, said Dr. M. G. Sivadas, Reproductive and Child Health Officer and nodal officer for vaccination, Ernakulam. But vaccine administration for this vulnerable category of people among the general public will begin only after polling officials in the district are given the shot, he added. The vaccination drive for polling officials is from March 1 to 3.
It will be a wholly self-registration process, he said. On-the-spot registration will also be permitted at the vaccination centres. The app is expected to have locations of vaccination centres.
ASHA workers already had lists of people over the age of 60 and those with co-morbidities, said Dr. Mathews Numpeli, district programme manager, National Health Mission. But these would not be used for registration, and the ASHA workers would only encourage the elderly and people with co-morbidities to register themselves and take the shot, he said.
Around 60,000 healthcare workers and 26,000 frontline workers, including polling officers, have taken the vaccine so far in the district.
At the vaccination centres, doctors have been trained to identify “contraindications” or conditions in which people should not take the vaccine, Dr. Sivadas said. Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children below the age of 18 cannot take the vaccine.
“People with diabetes, hypertension, and any other lifestyle disease are recommended to take the vaccine since they are at high-risk of developing severe COVID-19,” said Dr. Anish T.S., Associate Professor at the Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.
“In some cases, we might postpone the vaccination. People who have had COVID-19 might have to wait 28 days after testing negative. A person who is taking another vaccine like the anti-rabies vaccine might have to wait two weeks after the last dose of the anti-rabies vaccine to take the COVID-19 shot,” Dr. Anish said.
A communication from Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Union Health Ministry, to senior health officials in all States sent on January 14, also suggests that COVID-19 and other vaccines should be separated by an interval of 14 days. A history of chronic diseases like cardiac, renal, neurological, pulmonary, metabolic diseases, and malignancies are not contraindications for the vaccine, the communication says.
The vaccine is not suggested for people who have had an anaphylactic or allergic reactions to vaccines, injectable therapies, pharmaceutical products and food items, according to the communication. A specific set of guidelines or order on administering the vaccine to the general public is still awaited, Dr. Anish said.
