Health dept working to list priority groups ahead of vaccination drive

The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine is collecting data at three levels-- Health Service Centers, Primary Health Centers and District levels -- to come up with a general plan for vaccination against COVID-19. Considering the introduction of the dose in the near future, officials have kept certain categories in the priority list.

“Health workers would be our first priority for the vaccination, followed by those in essential services, patients with comorbidities and geriatric patients. The micro plan is being drafted according to the priority list such that protocol is set accordingly for the programme,” said Dr TS Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. As per senior officials from the State Health Department, protocols from the Center on giving preferences to certain patients and groups of health workers would also be considered. Dr Selvavinayagam added that data are being collected from health workers, private sector healthcare workers, patients with comorbidities, district administration personnel and others to finalise a priority list.

Public health experts state that a micro plan will help in planning the administration of vaccines and prioritisation will help the ones, who are at the highest risk of getting affected. As part of the vaccination micro plan, availability of human resources, field workers and volunteers is being collected.

The Centre has asked states to constitute committees for coordination and overseeing COVID-19 vaccination drive while ensuring minimal disruptions in other routine healthcare services, and stressed early tracking of social media to dispel rumours which could impact the community acceptance of coronavirus inoculation.

Stating that COVID-19 vaccine introduction will span over a year with multiple groups being included “sequentially starting from health care workers”, the Health Ministry has sought constitution of committees at state and district levels which will review preparatory activities in terms of cold chain preparedness, operational planning, strategies for state-specific challenges in terms of geographical terrain and hard-to-reach areas, etc.