BHUBANESWAR: THE wait for Covid-19 vaccine finally ended as Odisha on Tuesday received its first consignment of Oxford-AstraZeneca joint venture Covishield from the Serum Institute of India (SII). As many as 4.08 lakh doses of vaccines in 34 packets landed at Biju Patnaik International Airport here from Pune in a special SpiceJet flight at around 3:30 pm. Escorted by security forces, the vaccine boxes were then transported to the State Vaccine Store (SVS).
The State Government has also been allotted 20,000 doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin that is expected to arrive on Wednesday. The vaccine will be dispatched to all districts within 48 hours, ahead of the vaccination drive beginning from January 16.Around 50 pc of the vaccines will be supplied from the State store to districts for first dose vaccination and the remaining 50 pc vaccines will be supplied in time for second dose vaccination.
Additional Chief Secretary of Health department PK Mohapatra said the Covishield vaccine will be dispatched to all 30 districts and Covaxin vaccine will be supplied to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation area. “While selecting an institution for vaccination, districts have been asked to ensure that there is sufficient vaccine supply for all its healthcare workers (from Safai karmachari to doctors) before selecting another facility for vaccination,” he said. Healthcare institutions (both Government and private) will be prioritised for vaccination in the order of the level of care they provide. First tertiary care institutions, then secondary care institutions and primary care institutions will be considered at the last.
If the vaccine availability is insufficient to cover all institutions of a certain category (tertiary/secondary/primary), the one with higher patient load will be prioritised. Similarly, if the vials are insufficient to cover all workers within a healthcare facility, people with higher age will be vaccinated first.Around 1.9 lakh healthcare workers (HCWs) will be vaccinated with the 4.28 lakh doses as both the vaccines have a wastage factor of 10 pc. So far, 160 session sites have been identified for vaccination of 3.33 lakh HCWs and ICDS functionaries. Mohapatra said the number of session sites will be increased or changed, if required, to utilise the available supply of vaccines within one week.
The SVS linked with the Centrally monitored Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) is abuzz with activities after the arrival of the vials. While armed police personnel have been deployed to guard the store, a nine-member team has been entrusted for maintaining the database of vaccines. The store handles 10 types of vaccines.
VACCINE DRIVE
50 pc of Covishield vaccines will be supplied from the State store to dists
Covishield will be dispatched to all 30 districts and Covaxin vaccine will be supplied to BMC
Healthcare institutions (both Govt and private) will be prioritised for vaccination in the order of the level of care they provide