Punjab Chief Secy directs officials to ramp up COVID vaccination to thwart possible 3rd wave

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 19 : Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on Saturday asked all the Deputy Commissioners to ramp up the ongoing vaccination drive for all the 18 plus eligible population to win the battle against the COVID-19 and prevent the much-anticipated third wave.
Chairing a meeting with senior officials of the state Health Department and the Deputy Commissioners to review the ongoing vaccination drive in the state, the Chief Secretary authorised the DCs to plan effective outreach strategies to vaccinate maximum people in the coming days, informed an official release by the state government.
She said the Union Government has allowed the states to prioritise free vaccination of different sections of the society on the basis of their occupation and potential super spreader and vulnerability basis.
Advising the district chiefs to keep full focus on the ongoing inoculation drive in their respective districts, she asked them to plan ward-wise camps immediately for the vulnerable people, including students above 18 years, teachers, judicial staff, lawyers, street vendors, construction workers, employees at private shops and commercial establishments.
Instructing the Principal Health Secretary Hussan Lal to procure more vaccination doses from the Centre, Mahajan also directed the DCs and field health officials to ensure minimum wastage of the vaccine during the camps.
Focusing on demand-driven policy for the supply of vaccine to the districts, she assured that adequate quantity of vaccine doses would be made available on the basis of consumption. Besides, she also asked all the field staffers to upload vaccination data daily on Cowin mobile application in order to facilitate procurement of additional supplies from the Government of India.
Updating the vaccine availability in the state, the Principal Health Secretary Lal informed that Punjab has more than six lakh doses of vaccine available at present and about seven lakh more vaccine doses would be available from the Centre in the coming days.
He informed that 51,86,754 beneficiaries, which accounted for 17.2 per cent of the total population in the state, have already been given the first jab of vaccine while 8,37,439 persons, accounting for 2.8 per cent, have got both the shots so far.
The Health department would ramp up the ongoing vaccination drive by providing about one lakh doses per day to run 6,437 vaccination sites already made functional in the districts, he said, adding that the Centre would allocate 25 per cent of vaccine to private hospitals for those people, who could afford the doses on payment.