Final dry run done, UP set for vaccine roll out on Jan 16
Yogi inspects dry run at SPM Hospital in Lucknow
LUCKNOW: The final dry run for the Covid-19 vaccination was conducted at 1,500 vaccination centres across the state on Monday.
Uttar Pradesh would launch the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign on January 16 (the same day as the rest of the country), said additional chief secretary (health and family welfare) Amit Mohan Prasad here.
During the Monday’s dry run, as many as 3,000 vaccination sessions were organised at government district hospitals, government and private medical colleges, community health centres, primary health centres and railway hospitals, Prasad said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath inspected the Monday’s dry run organised at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (SPM) Hospital in Lucknow. He directed the officers concerned to ensure the dry run was conducted in a well-organised manner in all the districts.
Later, he reviewed the dry run in 75 districts via video conference with the district administration officers. He directed them to ensure the success of the dry run and Covid vaccination in the same way in which they had worked to check the spread of the Covid-19 infection so far.
The previous statewide dry run was done on January 5. It was preceded by a similar exercise at six places in the state capital on January 2.
Prasad said all the arrangements for the Covid vaccination were checked during the dry run, including maintenance of cold chains, storage, transportation, waiting area at the vaccination centres, observation rooms and administration of vaccine to the beneficiaries.
The doubts of the vaccinators were cleared during the dry run and they were prepared to conduct the inoculation smoothly, he said. With the state government starting to give final touches to the first phase of the Covid vaccination, the chief minister asked officials to conduct the inoculation drive according to the guidelines issued by the Central government, Prasad said.
The additional chief secretary also said nine lakh health care workers would be vaccinated in the first phase. The Central government would supply the vaccines to Uttar Pradesh in a phased manner, he added.
The central government would also take the decision on the quantity of vaccines to be supplied to Uttar Pradesh, he said.