The BMC is leaving no stone unturned to increase the beneficiary count at the COVID-19 vaccination centres. The civic body is now allowing healthcare workers (HCWs) to walk-in and get inoculated even if they have not received any message via the Co-WIN application.
Following this, there was a two per cent rise in the beneficiaries getting vaccinated in these centres. According to the BMC, 1,728 of the 3,300 beneficiaries were inoculated on Wednesday. Officials said only 3,300 HCWs have received calls and messages.
“It is the second day when they received names of beneficiaries who have already been vaccinated. They have informed the state government about Co-WIN app glitch,” said a senior health official who is the part of the vaccination drive. The JJ Hospital revived 30 per cent of the old list of beneficiary names instead of a fresh one for the second consecutive day. The awareness related to Bharat Biotech COVAXIN is very less.
According to data, the highest number — 362 HCWs – were vaccinated at KEM Hospital, followed by 306 at Babasaheb Ambedkar, 262 at Rajawadi Hospital, 155 at Bhabha, 154 at BYL Nair, 149 at RN Cooper, 135 at LTMG (Sion), 133 at BKC jumbo, 57 at VN Desai and 15 at JJ Hospital.
BMC Executive Health Officer Dr Mangala Gomare said a new provision in the Co-WIN app allowed centres to vaccinate beneficiaries whose names are already registered. “Many, who didn’t have a prior appointment for Tuesday but wanted to get vaccinated, came to the centres to take the vaccine. Over 200 vaccinations were done on Tuesday using this option,” she said.
The BMC health authorities also called more people than the scheduled number to ensure that even if a few failed to turn up, the daily target of 4,000 could be met. The BMC made an appeal to the state government on Monday to allow walk-in appointments and call more than the scheduled numbers. The state government accepted the request. The Co-WIN app now allows for recipients to be adjusted under a category called ‘add beneficiary’.
“We have a database of 1.3 lakh health workers who are scheduled to get vaccinated. Daily 4,000 people are targeted for vaccination, but some fail to make it due to prior commitments, so we decided to fill that space by allowing walk-in vaccination and calling a health worker before their schedule,” said Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner.
The ward medical officers have a list of HCWs living in their jurisdiction. When there is a low turnout, the ward-level health officials can call up people from the list. “The officers will contact private or government hospitals nearby and ask for HCWs to be sent for vaccination before their schedule,” said a BMC official.
