BHOPAL: Amid the controversy over the corona vaccine even at the trial stage, the Covid vaccine launching ceremony will be held in Bhopal, Indore and 300 other places on January 16. However, uncertainty persists over whether Covaxin or Covishield will be administered. Within a couple of days, the picture will be clear on that point. The Union government has approved both the vaccines. Covaxin is still in the trial stage in Madhya Pradesh. The death of a Covaxin volunteer has added fuel to the fire.
The launch ceremony will be held at 302 places and national monitoring will be conducted for Bhopal and Indore. In Bhopal, the launch will be at JP Hospital and, in Indore, MY Hospital. Such major cities as Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur will have more centres and the rest of the districts will have according to their requirements. State immunization officer Santosh Shukla will be the first man to be vaccinated in Madhya Pradesh.
2 vaccines approved
Two coronavirus vaccines — AstraZeneca-Oxford (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) — have been approved for emergency use by the Drugs Controller-General of India (DCGI). Covishield and Covaxin have to be administered in two doses and can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
High-risk groups
The government has identified high-risk groups to be vaccinated on a priority basis. The first group includes healthcare and frontline workers. The second group will comprise persons over 50 years of age and persons with co-morbid conditions.
Registration is mandatory for Covid-19 vaccination. Only after registration will information on the session site and time be shared. A photo ID card is a must for both registration and verification at the session site to ensure that the intended person is vaccinated.
‘4.13L heathcare workers to get shots’
"Around 4.13 lakh heathcare workers will be given shots in Madhya Pradesh in five days and 100 workers will be vaccinated at each centre per day. The big cities will have more vaccination centres, but the number of vaccination centres in the districts depends upon their requirement. Centres will be made from the district level to the block level. We addressed the Indian Medical Association through video-conferencing about this vaccination process. Even Dr TN Dubey, vice-chancellor of Madhya Pradesh Ayurvigyan Vishwavidyalaya (Medical Science University) addressed various doctors regarding the vaccination programme," Dr Santosh Shukla, state immunization officer, said.
