Covid vaccine: Health dept gears up to tackle possible side-effects

Kolkata: With the country getting ready to launch COVID-19 vaccine, the state health department is making necessary arrangements to deal with the unforeseen situation which may arise if people develop side effects after receiving the shot.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also issued necessary directives to the state government. The health department officials will chalk out plans as to how the treatment will be provided to those who develop any serious side effect. The state health department will follow up the protocols laid done by the Union Health Ministry in this regard.

"It is true that side effects can be found in some cases. We generally have some degree of common side effects like mild fever and body aches. These are quite common symptoms in case of any vaccination. We will keep all necessary arrangements in place to deal with the situation. The state government is putting in place adequate infrastructure to ensure safe vaccine delivery," a senior health official said.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday held a meeting with the district administrative officials, police officers and the senior officials of the civic bodies, in which they had been directed to prepare the list of police personnel, land revenue officers, PWD employees, DM office employees and other Covid warriors at the district level.

It was also learnt that the health officials would also hold a meeting to prepare a blueprint for smooth running of the vaccination programme in Bengal. The state government has already selected priority groups and around 6 lakh health workers have been enlisted for the first phase of vaccination.

Two doses of vaccine will be administered on people in a gap of 28 days. Protective levels of antibodies will develop 2 weeks after receiving the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine, a senior official at Swasthya Bhawan said.

"It has to be ensured that the entire vaccination schedule is completed with 1 type of vaccine as different vaccines are not interchangeable. The beneficiaries will be informed through their registered mobile number as to where they will receive the vaccine and on which date. Information regarding the vaccination will be shared after the registration is completed. The real time monitoring of the vaccination programme will be done through the Co-Win app. The beneficiaries have to produce valid ID cards at the vaccination centres," the official added.

Meanwhile, the phase III trial of Covid vaccine, ZyCoV-D will soon be conducted at 2 government medical colleges in the state and at 6 private establishments. As many as 10,000 volunteers may be involved for the purpose. ZyCoV-D vaccine was found safe and given clearance by the Centre.