VIJAYAWADA: The state is fully prepared for Covid-19 inoculation drive as and when it is approved by the Centre.
Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das, who heads the state-level steering committee on Covid-19 vaccination, held a meeting with officials of the medical and health, home, roads and buildings, and other departments involved in the process, and reviewed the preparedness for administering the vaccine, on Wednesday.
The chief secretary asked the officials to take all steps to ensure that the vaccination process is taken up as per the guidelines issued by the Centre. He wanted all the departments involved in the process to work in coordination.
Aditya Nath Das said healthcare workers including doctors, paramedical staff, Asha workers and ANMs will be vaccinated first, and then it will be the turn of frontline workers such as cops, armed forces personnel, home guards, prisons department staff, disaster management officials and sanitation workers.
People aged above 50 years with comorbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, tuberculosis and cancer are the next in line for the immunisation against Covid-19.
Speaking on the occasion, medical and heath principal secretary Anil Kumar Singhal said all arrangements are put in place for the first phase of the vaccination, and that task force committees have already been set up at state, mandal and village levels.
Explaining about the arrangements for storing and administering the vaccine through a Powerpoint presentation, health commissioner Katamneni Bhaskar said 1,677 cold chain points (cold storage points) and 4,065 cold chain equipment have been readied. The state has 19 insulated vaccine vans, which will maintain temperatures between 2-8 degree Celsius; 26 more such vehicles will be provided soon, he added.