The Union health ministry on Sunday held a virtual meeting with all states and Union Territories to apprise them of the use of the CoWIN software, the digital platform designed to administer the coronavirus vaccination drive in the country scheduled to begin on January 16.

The ministry said that the states were asked to make use of the Aadhaar platform to register beneficiaries for vaccination and for consequent communication with them. The states were also asked to capture real-time data of vaccination on CoWIN.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, as many as 23 government departments have been roped in for the smooth conduct of the process, which will be led by the health ministry, according to the Hindustan Times.

From the women and child development department providing staff for vaccination, to the panchayati raj department identifying and planning vaccine sites, the exercise that is being billed as the world’s largest immunisation process would involve coordination at multiple levels. Major departments like railways, defence, state police, power and Information Technology have all been designated specific roles by the Centre.

On the other hand, various states have also undertaken measures for the first phase of inoculation. Here is a low down on plans of state governments:

Delhi

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Sunday said that the Aam Aadmi Party government has identified 89 sites which include 36 state-run hospitals and 53 private hospitals for the vaccination, PTI reported. He also said that the vaccine vials were likely to reach the national Capital by January 12-13.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma said the government expected to vaccinate around 4.5 lakh people in the first phase and that more than 18,000 people were trained for the exercise, according to ANI. Vaccination will be conducted at 282 sites across the state from January 16, the health minister said, reported the Hindustan Times.

West Bengal

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said her government was making arrangements to provide free vaccines for everyone in the state, reported PTI. In an open letter addressed to front line workers, she said Covid warriors, including police, home guards, civil defence volunteers, correctional home and disaster management employees, would be administered the vaccine on a priority basis.

Goa

Goa government has identified eight hospitals for the first phase of vaccination where around 18,000 health care workers will receive the doses, the Hindustan Times reported, quoting state immunisation officer Dr Rajendra Borkar. 100 vaccinations will be done at each of these eight facilities in a day, Borkar said.

Telangana

Health Minister Eatala Rajender on Saturday said that he would take the first shot to instil confidence among the people, The News Minute reported. The vaccine will be administered at 139 centres across the state and 2,90,000 healthcare personnel will be inoculated in the first phase, Rajender said.

Bihar

At least 4.62 lakh healthcare professionals have registered for the vaccination, the state health department said, according to the Hindustan Times.

Advertisement

On Saturday, the Union health ministry had announced that the vaccination programme in the country will be started after the harvest festivals such as Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Magh Bihu. The announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the coronavirus situation in the country. The prime minister is scheduled to hold another meeting with chief ministers of all the states on January 11 to discuss the coronavirus situation and the roll out of the vaccine.

In the first phase of vaccination, priority will be given to frontline healthcare workers, which is estimated to be around three crore people. This will be followed by those above 50 years of age, and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities. An estimated 27 crore people fall under the second category.