The COVID-19 vaccination programme is likely to begin in Manipur in the last week of January in 246 health centres across the state, Health Services director Dr K Rajo said. He also said the dry run for COVID-19 vaccination in all the 16 districts of the state was successfully completed on Friday.
Rajo was addressing the media during the state’s weekly briefing on COVID-19 at Lamphelpat in Imphal.
Announcing that the ministry has approved two COVID-19 vaccines - Covishield and Covaxin - after conducting several phases of testing, Rajo assured the public that there will be no major side effects of the vaccines and will be totally safe.
Of the 246 selected health centres for COVID-19 vaccination, 138 are government centres and 108 are private centres and as per the guidelines of the Health ministry, the beneficiaries for the first phase of the vaccination will only be the health workers, he added.
The directorate has also arranged 12 vans to carry COVID vaccines and adequate medical equipment such as syringes, cotton, and hand gloves, has already been arranged for use during the vaccination process, he said.
Moreover waiting and treatment room for any adverse effect after vaccination has also been identified in the selected vaccination centres, added Rajo.
He further informed that the IEC (information, education and communication) plan for rolling out of COVID-19 vaccination is in progress and the plan will involve all the government departments and CSOs to make it a massive awareness programme.
Asserting that the recovery rate of COVID infected person is 97 per cent and the number of death in the last one week due to COVID-19 is nine, Raju appealed to the public to continue following the COVID appropriate behaviour such as wearing proper face masks, maintaining six feet distance and washing of hands with soap and water as it is the only measures to prevent COVID-19 infection currently.
Regarding the complaints of not maintaining revised rates for COVID testing in most of the private health centres as circulated by the government, the director said that a team of the health department will look into the matter to ensure that the private health centres follow the revised rate.
Health workers and media persons who took part in the press conference took oath to follow the COVID appropriate behaviour and combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
