State takes measures to give 1st jab to all in super-spreader category in a month

KOLKATA: The state government has taken an initiative to ensure completion of first dose vaccination for those belonging to super-spreader categories in the next one month. All District Magistrates have been directed to prepare and submit the data base of those in the super spreader category by the next three days.

Similarly, it will be done by the Commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for the area under its jurisdiction. The vaccine doses will be made available for the people in these categories on priority basis. It needs a mention that the state government has categorised people, who are in the groups of super-spreaders, so that they can be vaccinated through different windows. The task to prepare a database of the people in the super-spreader categories has already begun. The state government had already announced that people belonging to the super-spreader category would be vaccinated on priority basis 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.

According to a senior officer of the state government, the number of people requiring the second dose of Covishield would not be large in number after the duration for the second dose has been increased to 12 to 16 weeks from six to eight weeks.