Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday decided to expand the mega COVID-19 vaccination drive in the State.
As per the latest decision, people will get the Covid-19 vaccine jab in all private hospitals soon.
Earlier, the Centre had accepted the request of the Odisha government and allowed 183 private hospitals empanelled under the Biju Swastya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) as vaccination sites for inoculation of elderly persons which kicked off from March 1.
In a letter, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) PK Mohapatra has asked district Collectors, Municipal Commissioners for the establishment of Covid-19 vaccination centres in private hospitals other than empanelled hospitals under BSKY and CGHS.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Covid-19 vaccination of Health Care, Frontline workers and senior citizens and those with comorbities is going on smoothly in Odisha.
Already, the private hospitals empanelled under CGHS and BSKY have been designated as Covid-19 vaccination centres (CVC) along with government health facilities to provide vaccination services.
“Now, in order to expand the Covid-19 vaccination services in the community, you are requested to verify and recommend, any of the private hospitals in your district not empanelled under BSKY/CGHS as vaccination centres,” Mohapatra said in the letter.
The State government has fixed the following criteria for Covid-19 vaccination centres (CVC):
-Sufficient Cold Chain equipment and capacity.
-Sufficient rooms/space for waiting area, vaccination and observation post vaccination.
-Sufficient number of trained vaccinators and verifiers.
-Ability to manage the adverse events following immunization (AEFI), as per the norms and guidelines fixed by the health ministry.
(Edited By Ramakant Biswas)