Guidelines released but comorbidity criteria hazy

The Union Government on Friday issued guidelines for the third phase of Covid-19 vaccination which is going to start from March 1.

The Centre has notified three simplified processes of registration which include advance, on-site self-registration and facilitated cohort registration for senior citizens who are willing to participate in the vaccination drive.

Moreover, individuals between 45 and 59 years of age need to show a medical certificate signed by registered medical practitioners for taking the vaccine shots.

However the state and civic health department are still awaiting the outcome of the final discussion with the state government; the criteria for comorbidities is being finalised as well as the vaccination charges at the private hospitals.

“Under all the above three routes, all beneficiaries would be captured on CoWIN2.0 platform and would be issued digital QR Code based provisional (on receiving the first dose) and final (on receiving second dose) certificates. These can be downloaded from the link shown in the SMS which the beneficiary shall receive after the vaccination.

Advance Self-Registration:

The

beneficiaries can selfregister in advance by downloading the CO-Win 2.0 portal and through other apps like Arogya Setu. These will list the government and private hospitals serving as vaccination centres with date and time of available schedules.

On-site Registration:

Facility

for those who cannot self-register in advance to walk into the identified vaccination centres; they can get themselves registered on site and then vaccinated.

Facilitated Cohort Registration:

Under this, the State/UT Government will take proactive lead. Specific date(s) will be decided when target groups are to be vaccinated. The State/UT health authorities will ensure that the target groups are actively mobilised and brought to the vaccination centres.

A print out of these certificates can also be taken from the vaccination centres,” read the guidelines. Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said they are waiting for more clarity how it is going to be done despite having received the guidelines for the third phase. Moreover, they have got very less time to organise the drive for the senior citizens as they are still clueless about the criteria of comorbidities which is likely to be finalised over the weekend. “We have been asked not to conduct a vaccination drive for the next two days and have been directed to upload data of the recipients by tonight on Co-Win 2.0 portal. Moreover, we have been asked to keep a plan ready which will include the granular weekly and fortnightly plans for scaling up the vaccination sites both within the government and private facilities and also the number of vaccine doses administered,” he said.

However, the vaccination will be free of charge at the Government Vaccination Centres. The beneficiar y will have to show a photo ID document for proof of age (preferably Aadhar card or EPIC card) and certificate of co-morbidity (if required). Those taking the COVID vaccine at any designated/empanelled private health facility will have to pay a pre-fixed charge.

However, health officials said they are waiting for more clarity on what is termed as comorbidity, which would be a criterion for 45 plus people to get the vaccine. Such a definition would help the authorities to be better equipped. “The pandemic, in its present stage, is certainly scar y, especially given the fact that Mumbai's numbers are again on the rise. The vaccine rollout should be as smooth as possible to arrest the spread of the disease. Uncontrolled spread would force the hands of the authorities towards a lockdown, which would have catastrophic effects,” he said.