The Uttar Pradesh government has cancelled all types of leaves of all officers and employees under the Directorate General of Health and Family Welfare with immediate effect ahead of the proposed Covid-19 vaccination drive. As per the reports, the leaves till January 31 has been cancelled.
Family Welfare Department of Uttar Pradesh cancels all leaves of officers and employees of the Directorate General, in view of “proposed COVID-19 vaccination in the months of December 2020 and January 2021, during which their cooperation is needed.” pic.twitter.com/rrnRs6tq5R
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 16, 2020
Dr Shrikant Tiwari, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Gorakhpur District Hospital, has confirmed that the government sent a notification that the vaccine will be available by January or February. In the first phase, the frontline workers will get the vaccination shot, including doctors, hospital staff and paramedics. The administration has identified 23,000 people, including frontline workers in the Gorakhpur district, for the vaccination in the first phase. He said, “The government has conveyed that the COVID-19 vaccine will be available by January or February. We have been asked to get ready.”
Govt has conveyed to us that COVID-19 vaccine will be available by Jan or Feb. We've identified around 23,000 people for vaccination in first phase. A room is being built for storage of the vaccine. We've already received three deep freezers: Gorakhpur Dr Shrikant Tiwari (15.12) pic.twitter.com/HF49l7f6ST
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 15, 2020
The administration is building a special storage facility
The administration has already started working on building cold storage rooms and freezers to store the large quantity of vaccine doses. CMO Tiwari said that they have already received three deep freezers. “We are ready to start the vaccination drive as soon as the government issues orders in this regard,” he added.
Govt has conveyed to us that COVID-19 vaccine will be available by Jan or Feb. We’ve identified around 23,000 people for vaccination in first phase. A room is being built for storage of the vaccine. We’ve already received three deep freezers: Gorakhpur Dr Shrikant Tiwari (15.12) pic.twitter.com/HF49l7f6ST
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 15, 2020
CM Yogi Adityanath’s statement on vaccination availability
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be available next month. He said, “We are about a month away from the Covid-19 vaccine and the state has already contained the pandemic. Developed countries like the US registered a Covid-19 death rate of about 8 percent, but Uttar Pradesh only saw 1.04 percent of Covid-19 deaths,” CM Adityanath said.
CM Yogi said that if the population of Delhi and UP are compared, UP had 8,000 deaths with 24 crore population compared to 10,000 deaths in Delhi with 1.75 crore population. “Despite being the most populous state, UP has given best results for COVID mgmt. Two months back the state had 68,000 active cases & now it’s less than 18,000. UP is the state to conduct the most number of tests, we have the lowest positivity rate & lowest mortality rate.”
If you compare this to Delhi – UP has a population of 24 crores and there have been 8,000 deaths. Delhi, with a population of 1.75 crores, recorded 10,000 deaths: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath https://t.co/csJDjVtBmg
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 16, 2020
Government notification on vaccine
On Monday, India released detailed guidelines for Covid-19 mass vaccination program that will begin soon. As per the reports, old chain infrastructure being set up across the country. The central government has planned to vaccinate 30 crore people in the first phase. The vaccination program will start as soon as the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) permits the emergency use of the Covid-19 vaccine. So far, Serum Institute of India, that is making the AstraZeneca vaccine, Bharat Biotech for its Covaxin, and a foreign company Pfizer have applied for the emergency approval from the government for vaccination. The Central government is yet to give approval for mass vaccination.
Government’s step by step plan to immunize people
To ensure the vaccination drive runs smoothly in the country, the government plans to give the first vaccination shots to the healthcare workers, frontline workers and persons above 50 years of age. Once these people are covered, the vaccine will be made available for those who are younger than 50 years of age but are at higher risk. After that, the government will make the vaccine available for the rest of the population based on the disease epidemiology and vaccine availability.
The government has divided people above 50 years of age into further groups. It will help in prioritizing the program based on the situation of the pandemic and vaccine availability.
