COVID-19: Delhi prepares for vaccination drive, identifies 609 cold chain points

Delhi government has ramped up its preparedness to vaccinate residents against COVID-19.

The government has indentified cold chain storage points, beyond training thousands of healthcare staff on technical details

Here's what the Delhi government has done so far to prepare for the vaccination drive:

1. Around 609 cold chain points have been identified in Delhi. Cold chain points will be present from major hospitals such as Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, Loknayak Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, GTB Hospital to Urban Public Health Center and Mohalla Clinics.

2. Dr Sunila Garg of Maulana Azad medical College, who has been appointed as the public health expert under the vaccination program in Delhi, told India Today TV, that the training of all senior officers associated with the immunisation department and senior officers associated with immunisation technical support has been done by the central government.

3. Around 3500 health workers have been identified in Delhi to carry out the vaccination process. Out of these, 1800 employees will be stationed at cold chain points.

4. Health workers will be deployed at every cold storage facility. Out of the 3500 healthcare workers, around 600 are from the private sector.

5. A total of 600 medical officers in Delhi will be trained to monitor the cold chain points across the national capital.

6. The identified cold storage facilities are equipped with deep freezers, refrigerators, walking coolers, vaccine carriers, and thermocol carriers for the storage of the vaccine vials.

7. During the special training plan, health workers in Delhi will be informed about the coronavirus vaccine, the method, and how to administer it during the vaccination drive.

8. All employees will be informed about the 'CoWin Software' during the training.

9. The health workers will be informed about how to monitor the vaccine during the training.

10. Apart from the health department, the Delhi government will coordinate with other ministries, municipal corporations, panchayati raj, urban minister body and other departments for the vaccination program.