Puducherry will roll out COVID-19 vaccination for the 18-44 age group from Thursday.
According to the health department, at the moment, only online registrants are allowed to take the jab and no walk-ins are entertained as per Centre’s guidelines. The vaccination is also targeting only residents of the Union Territory. Registrants at the portal have to submit proof of residence at the site of vaccination.
Launching the registration and session allocation for the vaccination in the Raj Nivas, Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said all arrangements were in place.
The portal is user-friendly and while registering, people can pick their convenient time slots, she said.
The vaccination will be administered at the following seven centres — Indira Gandhi Government Arts and Science College, Government Hospital for Chest Disease, Mahatma Gandhi College of Dental Sciences and ESI Hospital in Puducherry; Perunthalaivar Kamaraj College of Education in Karaikal.
For scheduling an appointment for vaccination, the beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group should register in the Union Health Ministry's CoWin site, https://www.cowin.gov.in
The Lt. Governor said that Puducherry was already vaccinating people above 45 years of age.
She urged the public to take advantage of the vaccination drive which was an important weapon in the battle against the pandemic, especially as experts have been warning of more waves of the coronavirus.
Camps are arranged in schools for those who do not want to approach primary health centres for vaccination.
The health department projected a requirement of 6 lakh vaccines for covering the 18-44 segment. The programme is being rolled out with a stock of 30,000 vaccines.
“We expect the next consignments as the programme picks up. The stock delivery schedule takes into account factors such as storage and reduction of wastage,” the Lt. Governor said.
On whether harsher lockdown measures are mooted given the high numbers of fresh cases/deaths over a fortnight, Ms. Soundararajan said lockdowns cannot be the only measure to control the spread. “Public participation in the adoption of safety measures is the most important aspect of prevention. Self-regulation is more effective than administration-driven regulations. Moreover, we have to also ensure survival of informal economy workers who were already reeling under the impact of regulations,” she said.
