CHENNAI: The State health department will conduct the second dry run of Covid-19 vaccine in all the districts of Tamil Nadu on January 8. The State had conducted the first rehearsal at 17 sites in five districts on Saturday and submitted its reported to the union government.
Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, while inspecting a central government drug store facility here on Wednesday, said Collectors are making arrangements in their respective districts to make sure that the vaccine is rolled out without any issues. Already, all the districts are trained on conducting the vaccination drive.
“The union government has also allotted 33 lakh syringes to the State in the first phase. Among them, 28 lakh syringes have been received and they are distributed to Chennai and all the district health units. In addition to that, the State has 17 lakh syringes,” Radhakrishnan said. During the rehearsal, vaccinators and other health workers will be trained on how the waiting, monitoring and vaccine administration rooms have to be prepared.
They will also see how much time does it take to administer vaccines to 100 people in one centre, the health secretary said. Exclusive walk-in coolers are in place to preserve the vaccines. Though 47,000 session sites are ready, in the first phase, vaccines will be given to six lakh health workers in 3,000 session sites, Radhakrishnan said.
The health secretary further said that the State is waiting for transportation of vaccines and other related details from the union government. On January 7, the union health secretary will have a meeting with all the States’ health secretaries through video conference. Radhakrishnan also said that a separate team of officials has been appointed to oversee vaccine arrival works and its schedule.