On Saturday, the state became part of the COVID-19 vaccine dry-run being organized at the national level. The dry-run, aimed to assess the ability and readiness of the health system to administer vaccine shots to the selected groups, is being carried out at six centres spreading over four districts in the state.
At each centre, a total of 25 health workers will become part of the mock drill from the allotted time slot of 9 am to 11 am.
Overseeing the dry-run at Peroorkada District Model Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, state health minister KK Shailaja said that the state is ready for the vaccination drive, which is expected to get underway very soon.
“This is a mock-drill. This is to ensure the preparedness of the health system in carrying out the drive once the vaccine arrives. The vaccine that we are going to use against COVID-19 is Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine dubbed as Covishield in India and is produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India. As of now, the vaccine is said to be safe and no adverse reaction has been reported. Thus people shouldn’t be concerned about it,” said Shailaja.
In the state dry run was carried out at the primary health centre at Poozhanadu and the district hospital at Peroorkada, besides a private hospital in the capital district.
In Idukki, the primary health centre at Vazhathope was selected for the dry run.
Whereas in Palakkad and Wayanad, it was a community health centre at Nemmara and the primary health centre at Kurukkanmoola.
A total of 3.13 lakh had registered for the Covishield in the state.
In the first phase, the vaccine will be provided to health workers in the public and private sectors, medical students, Asha workers, ICDS and Anganwadi staffs.