Chhattisgarh to receive 3.23 lakh coronavirus vaccine doses

The Chhattisgarh government onTuesday said the state will get 3.23 lakh doses of Covishield,the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Pune-based SerumInstitute of India (SII), as part of the first batch ofconsignment for the upcoming vaccination drive.

The consignment is likely to reach Raipur onWednesday, but so far no official confirmation has beenreceived from the Centre about the delivery date, a seniorhealth official said.

In the first batch, 3.23 lakh doses of the SerumInstitute of India-manufactured Covishield vaccine will soonbe provided to the state.

''As per protocols, a robust arrangement has been madefor distribution, transportation and storage of vaccine vialsin all districts, State Immunisation Officer Dr Amar SinghThakur said in a statement.

Refrigerated vans will be used to ferry vaccine stocksfrom the Raipur airport to the main state vaccine storagecentre here and later to similar facilities in the districts,he said.

For storage purpose, one state-level, three regionaland 27 district-level cold chain points have been set up,Thakur said.

At present, the state has 630 active cold chain pointsfor safe storage and transportation of vaccines while thereare 81 additional cold chain points, he said.

As many 1,311 cold-boxes are available fortransportation while for syringe, needle and other materials,360 dry-storage facilities have been established, Thakuradded.

In the first phase, 2,67,399 healthcare personnel andother frontline workers will be vaccinated for which 1,349centres have been identified, he said.

However, 99 vaccination centres have been selectedacross the state for the roll-out scheduled on January 16, headded.

At least 7,116 immunisation personnel have been giventraining and mock drills of the roll-out had been conducted at83 places covering all the 28 districts, the officer said.

The Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI)management system has been strengthened right from the statelevel to booths to deal with any medical emergency postvaccination of beneficiaries, he said.