KMC's inoculation drive to take place thrice a week

KOLKATA: Kolkata Municipal poration is laying emphasis on the vaccination of transport workers, hawkers and transgenders with the state Health department categorising them as super spreaders of COVID-19 considering their nature of work. The civic body from next week will inoculate people of these categories thrice a week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This week, the exercise will be held on Friday and Saturday.

The process of inoculation of super spreaders will continue till 100 per cent target is achieved. Other citizens will be given the second dose of Covishield only on Mondays. "There will be no vaccination on Wednesdays and immunisation of the children will be carried out on that day," Member Board of Administrators, Atin Ghosh said. "After the Centre has increased the gap between two doses of Covishield to 84 days, we are getting a few people at the vaccination centres. We apprehend that if we act in the same manner when it comes to administering the second Covishield dose, vaccine doses may be wasted," a senior official of KMC's Health department said. The KMC will be providing Covaxin from 18 centres comprising mainly the community halls from Monday. Presently, Covaxin is being given from 8 centres. "Gradually all community halls under the civic body will be used for vaccination," Ghosh added. Vaccination of people above 45 years of age by advance booking of slots through WhatsApp number 8335999000 is going on at three centres — Roxy Cinema Hall, Bidhan Sishu Udyan and South City School. "The centre at Bidhan Sishu Udyan started functioning from Tuesday and 294 people were given the jabs through slot booking," a senior KMC official said.