As Delhi readies for Covid shot in the arm, here’s how the chain of events will unfold

NEW DELHI: After arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport in special cargo planes, Covid-19 vaccine vials will be taken to the city’s two cold storage facilities in special refrigerated vans. From there, the vaccine will be transported to 609 cold chain points in special vans, some of which could be hired from private operators. From the cold chain points, the vaccine will be taken to the 1,000 vaccination booths across Delhi, many of on the same premises as the cold chain points.

These logistical arrangements for the smooth rollout of the vaccination programme were detailed on Friday by Dr Suneela Garg, director professor of community medicine at Maulana Azad Medical College and member of Delhi Covid-19 task force for vaccination. In the capital, 51 lakh citizens will get the jab in the first phase of inoculation.

Four Covid regional stores have been earmarked in Karnal in Haryana, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata for onward distribution of the vaccine among states and Union territories, mostly by road. Delhi’s vaccine storage points being in the vicinity of the airport is expected to save time in the delivery process.

Each of Delhi’s 11 districts will have 55-60 cold chain points and 90-100 vaccination booths. The 1,000 or so vaccination booths will be created at 48 government and 100-odd private hospitals. “Not more than 100 shots will be given at one vaccination booth,” said a government official, adding that post-vaccination monitoring of a person for 30 minutes was mandatory.

Delhi government has created a vaccine storage point at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital while another one is being readied at Civil Lines. For the third storage facility, a site has been identified at the office of the Director General of Health Services, but government officials believe that the two main sites will prove adequate.

Garg said, “From Delhi’s storage facilities, the vaccine will be sent to the districts in special vans, while vaccine carriers will transport it from the cold chain points to the vaccination booths. Maintaining the temperature while transporting the vaccine is very important. In all the cold chain points, where freezers and refrigerators are available, temperature monitors will be employed to ensure that the required 2-8 degree Celsius temperature is maintained.”

In some places like Lok Nayak Hospital where vaccination booths will be located close to the cold chain point, the vials will be brought out by vaccine carriers.

In the first phase, the priority group of people getting the Covid-19 jab will include three lakh healthcare workers, six lakh frontline workers and 42 lakh people either aged above 50 years or below 50 but with co-morbidities.

The state government has used three sources to gather data of people who will be given vaccines in the first phase: details of healthcare workers from hospitals, voter ID cards and data generated at the district level during screening for non-communicable diseases in the past to identify people below 50 with comorbidities. This list of beneficiaries is still being compiled. Self-registration for vaccination is going to start on the Co-WIN app in a few days.

“All beneficiaries who are supposed to get vaccines will be sent SMS texts two days before they are scheduled to get vaccines. They have to report at the given time and vaccination booth (address will be available in the SMS) and show the SMS for verification,” explained an official.

As part of the preparations 3,500 persons have been trained to administer the shots that will protect them from infection. These include 600 healthcare professionals from dozens of private hospitals. Each vaccination booth will be managed by five vaccination officers entrusted with verification, vaccination, updating of information on the government website and post-vaccination monitoring. Emergency treatment measures will also be in place in the booths.