Dry run for COVID-19 vaccine conducted in Visakhapatnam

As part of the nation-wide dry run for the COVID-19 vaccine, the mock exercise was held in Visakhapatnam, on Saturday. The dry run was conducted between 9 AM and 11 AM at three hospitals in the district.

It may be noted that healthcare workers including doctors, nurses, lab technicians, ASHA, ANM, and Anganwadi workers will receive vaccination during the first phase in the district. In order to familiarise the staff with the vaccination process, a dry run was organised at Government ENT Hospital, Pradhama Hospital, and the Regional Health Centre at Simhachalam in Visakhapatnam.

Three steps are involved in vaccination centres. The first step involves registration where a beneficiary has to show an ID card and an Aadhaar card. The details will be cross-checked in the CoWin software. Thereafter, they would be given the vaccine. Then they will be directed to the Observation Room where beneficiaries’ conditions will be monitored for half an hour.

Addressing the media, Visakhapatnam District Collector, V Vinay Chand informed that the trial run of the COVID-19 vaccine has been successfully organised in the district. He noted that every vaccination centre in the district will house an AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunisation) committee, comprising a cardiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, general physician, and anaesthesiologist to monitor the condition of the patient in case of an adverse event. Speaking about the storage facilities in the district, the Visakhapatnam District Collector said that freezers have been built specifically for this purpose which can accommodate up to 17 lakh vaccines at once.

Vizag COVID-19 Update:

Vizag district, on Saturday, reported 21 new COVID-19 cases. The newly recorded cases, between Friday and Saturday, have taken the district tally to 59,740. As many as 26 individuals recovered from the infection in the past 24 hours. It is to be noted that no fatalities were reported between 1 January and 2 January.