Odisha: Health workers refusing vaccination may miss free shots
● MANY HEALTH workers have informed in writing that they will not take vaccines as a mark of protest to non-fulfillment of their certain demands.
● AS MANY as 32,526 health workers were immunised in 375 sessions against the government target of 31,902 on Monday.
The Odisha government on Tuesday sent a veiled caution to a section of health workers in the state who were not showing interest to take the Covid19 vaccines. It said the health workers refusing to take Covid vaccination may lose the chance to get
Covid-19 vaccine free of cost later.
“Many health workers have informed us in writing that they will not take vaccines as a mark of protest to non-fulfillment of their certain demands. We appeal to them to come forward and get themselves vaccinated so that they would be safe as well as family members. Those who remain absent during the vaccination, will be considered subsequently but those who refuse to take the vaccine may not get the same free of cost later,” said state health director Bijay Panigrahy.
Panigrahi said that the second day of the first phase was successful. As many as 32,526 health workers were immunised in 375 sessions against the government target of 31,902. The government achieved a 102 per cent target by vaccinating more health workers on Monday, he added.
As many as 192 sessions were conducted on Tuesday vaccinating
16,261 health professionals, he pointed out.
Similarly, 92 sessions will be held on January 20,
436 sessions on January
21, 141 sessions on January 22, 178 sessions on January 23 and 279 sessions on January 25.
On Saturday, Covid vaccines were administered at 161 session sites across the state after the roll out of the vaccination initiative while the government stalled the inoculation drive on Sunday.
About 15,000 multipurpose health workers have refused to take Covid-19 vaccine in protest against the state government’s alleged callousness in cadre restructuring and designation change.
The health workers, under the banner of Odisha state male and female multipurpose health workers’/health supervisors’ united association, wore black badges on Friday as a symbolic protest and refused to take the vaccination if their demands are not met.
In a related development, the phase-II Covishield vaccines on Tuesday reached Bhubaneswar at 4 pm by a special Spice Jet flight. The vaccines — 33,450 vials — will be dispatched to various district headquarters in the next three days, sources added.