New delhi: Delhi is geared up for the COVID-19 vaccination programme and the city's entire population can be covered in a month if hospital staff and nurses are involved, State Immunisation Officer Suresh Seth said Thursday.
"We have 600 cold storage points and around 1,800 outreach sites for the universal immunisation programme for children. We have sufficient equipment for vaccines that can be stored at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and those that need minus 15 to minus 25 degrees Celsius. The central government is further strengthening the infrastructure and providing more equipment," Seth told.
He said the equipment and infrastructure for vaccines that need ultra-cold conditions (minus 70 degrees Celsius) are not there, but "we don't think there will be any problem logistically because the immunisation programme will be carried out in a phased
manner".
"If we involve hospital staff and nurses etc., we can easily vaccinate the entire population in a month," he said, adding that at present, the Delhi government is collecting data of health care workers who are at top of the priority list of the Delhi government.
"If a vaccine is available, we can administer it to all healthcare workers in just three days... We have sufficient equipment and cold storage space, we are geared up. We won't let Delhi falter," Seth stressed.
On their part, experts said that Delhi has sufficient infrastructure and equipment to effectively cover its entire population.
Dr Ajit Jain, the nodal officer for COVID-19 at Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty hospital, said, "Being the national capital, it has got the equipment and capacity. All we need is trained manpower to carry out the immunization programme effectively."
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had last week said there should not be "VIP or non-VIP categories" for vaccinating people against COVID-19 as everyone's life is important and priority should instead be given to "corona warriors", vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, and those having comorbidities.
He had also said that it was likely that the distribution plan of the vaccination will be prepared by the central government, but he would prefer "priority-based" vaccination which is "technical rather than political in nature".
"First priority should be given to corona warriors as they are working hard during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Second priority should be given to those who are vulnerable groups like senior citizens and then those who have comorbidities," he had said.