Statewide Covid immunisation drive to start in Maharashtra

• Maharashtra IMA and other healthcare facilities to collect data of frontline health workers
• Doctors and civil surgeons are required to submit the data by November 12
• The state health department is likely to procure additional coolers and freezers that would probably be installed by December.

THD NewsDesk, Maharashtra: Heeding to orders from the Union Health Ministry, the Maharashtra government has embarked on the first phase of the Covid immunisation drive. The statewide exercise entails collating data of the total number of health workers in government and private hospitals, and nursing homes. The state health department has been handed the responsibility of submitting the required data for the Central Covid-19 vaccine beneficiary management system.

“We are in the process of preparing a database of beneficiaries that will be uploaded to the vaccine beneficiary management system for individualised tracking of all recipients,” said Dr D N Patil, state immunisation officer.

Dr Vaishali Jadhav, assistant medical officer, Pune Municipal Corporation said,

“It is a massive task, and we have urged hospitals to share data on the number of doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and ward assistants”.

Dr Patil informed that the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has been at the forefront of collecting 75% and other health care facilities have also been taken in the loop. To ensure uniformity, the Centre had also issued a standard excel-based template for data collection and guidelines.

Earlier, IMA Maharashtra, Maharashtra Medical Council, Director of Health, Dr Archana Patil, and Joint Director of Health, Dr Dilip Patil had held a virtual meeting to brief the doctors about the procedure. November 12 is the latest date for uploading information for the doctors and civil surgeons of respective districts. 

Currently, there are nine vaccine storage centres in Maharashtra, spread out in Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Latur, Nagpur, Akola and Nashik. The state health department also hopes to procure six additional coolers and two freezers that would probably be installed by December. 

Private doctors included

Further, Pune District Collector Dr Rajesh Deshmukh told that a national expert group would be constituted to supervise the vaccine administration drive. Its primary responsibility would be to ensure that the vaccine reaches all sections of society. Among which, the frontline healthcare workers will be given priority. 

Contrary to the earlier guidelines that excluded all the private doctors, Dr Avinash Bhondwe, state IMA chief said the state government has now decided to include private doctors in the database. 

According to Dr Bhondwe, the Maharashtra government had issued a circular on October 13 that “was against the guidelines proposed by the Centre, which had said that both government and private doctors should be included in the Covid-19 vaccination”. Raising objection, the IMA state unit brought up the issue with PM Modi and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and state Health Minister Rajesh Tope. “As a response to the unrest among 2.5 lakh doctors in Maharashtra, the government has now decided to include all doctors,” Dr Bhondwe said.

The nationwide immunisation drive pledges to give priority to all categories of health workers – including doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, technicians, pharmacists, ward assistants, scientists and research staff, students of medical, dental, Ayush and nursing courses, supporting team including dieticians, biomedical waste staff, sanitation workers, ambulance drivers – once an effective Covid vaccine is approved.

Source: Indian Express