Around 80,000 healthcare and other Covid frontline workers in Himachal Pradesh will be the first in the state to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, state Health Secretary Amitabh Awasthi said Thursday. Health workers of both governmental and non-governmental organisations will be included in the first phase of vaccination, along with police personnel, sanitation workers, hospital security staff and other people deployed in frontline duties, Awasthi said. “After that, the rest of the state's population will be vaccinated in a phased manner. We have already identified and prepared around 386 places at various locations in the state as vaccine storage facilities,” said the health secretary after a meeting of the state steering committee held to discuss the preparation of Covid vaccination in Himachal. The state has a population of around 72 lakh. Awasthi said that vaccine will be made available to the people in a campaign in which 3,700 vaccinators will be providing their services. “Training and tools to be provided to the vaccinators have been discussed, and preparations for disposal of biomedical wastes have also been made,” he said. There are currently about 7,300 active cases in the state, and the total tally of infections in Himachal is over 47 thousand. There have been 757 Covid-related deaths, including 12 Covid patients who passed away on Wednesday. The state is in the middle of a surge in Covid infections since November, which has been attributed to weddings and other social congregations, particularly those in which attendees are huddled together in indoor spaces due to the cold season.
