NEW DELHI: Work is underway in full swing to set up centres for Covid-19 vaccination in the national capital with 500 such units to come up in the first phase, even as the storage facility is getting equipped with freezers to hold vaccines in a temperature range of 2-8 degrees Celsius.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday had welcomed the approval given for emergency use of two Covid-19 vaccines, and asserted that the city government was all set for the vaccination drive as soon as any vaccine arrives.
A total of 1,000 vaccination centres will be set up. And, 500-600 centres will be set up in the first phase, for which work is underway in full swing, officials said.
India’s drugs regulator has approved Oxford Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country.
“We are all ready with our preparations, from storage to logistics, and on Saturday, a dry run was conducted at three sites to assess the preparedness for the vaccination roll-out. Vaccination can begin as soon as the vaccine arrives in Delhi, which we expect in a few days,” Jain said on Sunday.
As part of the first phase, about three lakh healthcare workers and nearly six lakh frontline workers will get the vaccine. The city government has announced that the vaccine will be provided to people in Delhi for free-of-cost.
While the Covid-19 situation seems significantly under control, several people arriving here from the UK and being detected with the new strain of the coronavirus, has caused a bit of concern, but authorities said they were totally alert.
Delhi recorded 424 fresh Covid-19 cases, the lowest in over seven months, and’14 new fatalities on Sunday, even as the positivity rate slipped to 0.62 per cent. The’infection tally in the city stood at over 6.26 lakh and death toll rose to 10,585.
The minister has said the Delhi government has so far made preparations to vaccinate one lakh people in a day. Social distancing will be maintained, and people will be admitted to the centres in batches of 10, he added.
(With PTI inputs)