Jharkhand govt ready to roll out Covid booster dose from today

RANCHI: Jharkhand, which is battling heavy surge of Covid-19 cases, is set to roll out booster doses for the elderly with comorbid conditions and frontline workers from Monday as part of the nationwide roll-out.
The move assumes importance from the state's point of view in the wake of about a dozen Covid deaths which has come to fore in less than a week. Two days ago, the state recorded as many as eight fatalities besides four-digit surge.Again on Saturday, it reported three deaths.
State health department officials in Ranchi on Sunday said that modalities for kick-starting booster doses have been worked out and all the districts are set to begin from Monday. Although the state government hasn't yet formally issued estimated population for booster doses citing that they are dynamic in nature and will change on daily basis, but sources said that in the first phase, about 6.5 lakh people are eligible for booster doses.
As per the protocol set by the Union government, 60 plus people with comorbid condition are eligible for booster doses only if their second dose has crossed nine months or 39 weeks' time. Sandip Kumar Meena, senior vaccination in charge and SDO Dhalbhum in East Singbhum, said that eligible candidates for booster doses can take jabs through walk-in at any government vaccine points or pre-register on co-win portal. "In Co-win portal, one doesn't have to register afresh. In the same account that was used for earlier vaccination, they will find a tab for booster dose, which they have to activate," he said. As per the norms, a person will get third dose or booster dose of the same drug which they took earlier. As per the estimates, three districts in Kolhan - East Singbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan - has identified about 60,200, 29,602 and 29,986 beneficiaries respectively for the booster doses to begin with in their regions. In Dhanbad, civil surgeon Shyam Kant Kishore said that they have an initial estimate of about 59,000 people for booster doses. "There will be no separate counters. One can walk in at any vaccine centre to get it," he said.
As per the vaccination bulletin issued by the state on Saturday, of 2.41lakh total beneficiaries in 18 plus age group, 79% have received first dose and 49% have got both the doses. The coverage between 15-18 years is 13.14% out of targeted population of 23.98 lakh since the drive began on January 3 this year.