Maha: Healthcare workers to be vaccinated four days a week

Vaccination of healthcare workersfor COVID-19 will be carried out in Maharashtra four days aweek so that health services at hospitals are not hampereddue to their absence, an official said on Friday.

The inoculation drive is set to begin from Saturdaywith healthcare workers being the beneficiaries in the firstphase.

''The vaccination drive will be carried out for fourdays a week (after the launch on Saturday),'' said a seniorhealth department official.

''Majority of the health staff in the state comprisesof nurses and others having similar skill sets. Hence we needto manage their availability as well as their duty hoursbefore sending them SMS for inoculation,'' he said.

All beneficiaries will be getting text message beforethey are vaccinated.

Asked when the state is expected to receive a secondlot of vaccine doses, he said the state government will informthe Centre about the number of health workers it needs tovaccinate but it is up to the Centre to sanction vaccinesupply.

Maharashtra has received 9.83 lakh vaccine doses sofar.