West Bengal govt to make database of super-spreaders

KOLKATA: The state government has decided to categorise people, who are in the groups of super-spreaders so that they can be vaccinated through different windows. A database will be prepared containing the details about the people in the super-spreader categories.

The Mamata Banerjee government had already announced that people belonging to the super-spreader category would be vaccinated to check further transmission of the virus.

A decision was taken in the state Executive Committee meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority on Saturday as to how the people in these super-spreader groups would be vaccinated. These people would be handled by sectoral departments in conjunction with District Magistrates.

The common people would be taken care of by various hospitals and Chief Medical Officers in the districts. The government proposed that the beneficiaries may, thus, be divided into two categories — general people and super-spreaders.

In the super-spreaders' groups, the government and para-governmental employees who have not been vaccinated during the poll process including teachers will be given the opportunity to get vaccinated. The other categories in the same groups include the dealers of essential services/goods and their operating staff: ration dealers, kerosene and LPG dealers and petrol pump staff; transport workers including taxi, auto, toto drivers, rickshaw pullers, journalists, lawyers and muharirs, law clerks and court staff, sex workers and transgenders, hawkers including newspaper hawkers, retail sellers of vegetables, grocery items, fish etc in markets, Covid volunteers and inmates of social and correctional homes.

Responsibility will be given to various departments by the Health Secretary.