Who is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Chennai?
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, all those aged above 60 are eligible. All those aged above 45 and up to 60 but have co-morbidities are also eligible (Please refer to this link for the approved list of co-morbidities: https://www.thehindu.com /sci-tech/health/ coronavirus-list- of-comorbidities-for- priority-in-covid-19-v accination/ article33950281.ece ).
This apart, owing to the increase in COVID-19 cases, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has expanded the definition of frontline workers to include street vendors, hawkers, security guards, rag-pickers and informal waste collectors. At an interaction with journalists on Saturday, GCC Commissioner G. Prakash said cab drivers and bearers in hotels were also included.
This means these categories of frontline workers can get vaccinated if they are aged above 18.
They can walk into any vaccination centre with their Aadhaar and street vendor cards or identity cards issued by their employers. A senior official of the GCC said these categories of workers, even if they did not have identity cards for employment, would be considered for vaccination, depending on the availability at the centres.
All those above 18 years of age are not yet eligible. The GCC is, however, planning to expand vaccination to other professions like employees handling customers at banks.
Where can one get vaccinated?
There are a total of 432 government-run vaccination centres in Chennai. These include government hospitals, urban primary health centres and mini-clinics. Many private hospitals have also set up vaccination centres. The entire list of centres can be accessed at https://chennaicorporation.gov.in/gcc/covid-vaccine/
Anyone fulfilling the eligibility criteria can walk into a centre with relevant proof to get vaccinated. While ₹250 will be charged at private hospitals, vaccination is free at government-run centres.
Will a camp be held in my area?
The GCC is intending to provide a vaccination centre within a 500-metre radius of every household. Depending on the prevalence of cases and feedback from the sanitary inspectors of different localities, vaccination camps are organised at different places. A group of 40 eligible residents of one apartment complex or a few apartment complexes at a locality can contact the respective ward office for organising vaccination camps in their apartments. It will be arranged depending on the availability of medical teams.
What are mass vaccination camps?
On an experimental basis, the GCC organised a mass vaccination camp at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday. This was to help employees who cannot go to a vaccination centre on working days. The GCC intends to vaccinate 2,000-3,000 people on a day at the mass vaccination camp. The camp at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be held every Saturday. Depending on the success, the GCC is planning to have such camps at other places. Again, anyone meeting the criteria can visit these mass vaccination camps with relevant proof. While the GCC has so far vaccinated 4.5 lakh people, it aims to cover 25 lakh-30 lakh people by April-end.
