With COVID-19 vaccination beginning for all above 45 years from Thursday, the State has geared up to inoculate a target population of around 1.66 crore in this age group in 5,500 vaccination centres.
Health Commissioner K.V. Trilok Chandra told The Hindu , “Of the 1.66 crore target population, 70 lakh fall under the category of senior citizens and those above 45 years with comorbidities.”
In addition to existing vaccination centres, the State has planned to intensify the drive by extending services at Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and sub-centres.
“This will help people to access vaccination at their nearby locations. Vaccination will continue at all PHCs, UPHCs, CHCs, taluka hospitals, district hospitals, medical colleges and private hospitals as already being done. Apart from these, districts have flexibility to schedule vaccination in HWCs and sub-centres under the supervision of medical officer as per micro-plan on prior intimated dates,” said an official statement.
Besides, the State has provided broad guidelines to districts to strategise vaccination through support from all the line departments and NGOs.
Vaccine stock
With the current stock of 13.5 lakh doses of Covishield and 1.5 lakh doses of Covaxin vaccines, the health department has dispatched vaccines to cold chain points across the districts as per their requirement. “The Centre has assured the State that additional vaccine doses will be supplied regularly in the coming days as per daily coverage,” the statement said.
Anyone above 45 years, who wants to get vaccinated, should register on Co-WIN portal https://selfregistration.cowin.gov.in/ or through Arogya Setu app to book their desired vaccination date. Also, walk-in registration will be available at all the centres.
25 lakh people eligible
Outgoing BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said around 25 lakh individuals in the city are eligible for vaccination under this phase.
A total of 535 institutions have been registered as vaccination centres where around 85,000 individuals can be inoculated every day in the city. However, the city has vaccinated only a maximum of 35,000 odd individuals on a single day till date, he said.
Karnataka has so far vaccinated over 39 lakh people since January 16, 2021 when vaccination was rolled out. This includes healthcare and frontline workers, persons above 60 years and above 45 with co-morbidities.
