This is an archive article published on January 30, 2021
From next week, two crore frontline workers in line for coronavirus vaccine
“Our Co-Win system has stabilised. Yesterday we conducted 5.2 lakh vaccinations in a single day. Today again we will cross the 5 lakh mark. The system has accelerated, and that speed has stabilised. Also, we have sufficient quantities of vaccines,” a senior Health Ministry official said.
New Delhi | Updated: January 30, 2021 07:53 AM IST
3 min read
Whatsapp
twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Covid vaccination drive at Mumbai's Cooper Hospital. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)
The Centre has directed states to begin vaccinating frontline workers along with healthcare workers from the first week of February onward, senior Health Ministry officials said.
The direction came as India completed vaccinating 33 lakh healthcare workers against the novel coronavirus on Friday.
“Our Co-Win system has stabilised. Yesterday we conducted 5.2 lakh vaccinations in a single day. Today again we will cross the 5 lakh mark. The system has accelerated, and that speed has stabilised. Also, we have sufficient quantities of vaccines. Therefore, vaccination of both groups will move simultaneously,” a senior Health Ministry official said.
The Ministry has communicated to states that “further augmentation” of Covaxin and Covishield stocks will be made through “subsequent releases of vaccine doses”.
The estimated 2 crore frontline workers (FLWs) who will now be vaccinated include personnel from state and central police forces, the armed forces, home guards, and civil defence organisations, and prison staff, disaster management volunteers, and municipal workers.
Like the healthcare workers, the bulk beneficiaries list has already been uploaded on the Co-Win platform, officials said. “The database of FLWs has been uploaded by states/UTs in collaboration with respective line ministries and as on date, database of more than 61 lakh FLWs has been uploaded on Co-Win,” Dr Manohar Agnani, additional secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, wrote to the states.
The Ministry said on Friday that more than 33 lakh healthcare workers had been administered the vaccine so far. “4,40,681 beneficiaries were vaccinated till 7 pm today, the fourteenth day of nationwide Covid-19 vaccination. Final reports would be completed for the day by late tonight,” it said.
In his detailed communication to states, Agnani said: “As you are aware, the pan India Covid-19 vaccination drive initiated on 16 January, 2021, aims to cover healthcare workers and frontline workers in the initial phase. As on 29 January, 2021, we have been able to vaccinate a total of 29.28 lakh HCWs and the efforts put in by the states and UTs is appreciable.
“I request you to kindly direct the concerned officials to initiate requisite planning and review for initiating vaccination of FLWs along with HCWs from first week of February, 2021. Your unstinted support is prerequisite to achieve the desired acceleration and impact of the Covid-19 vaccination drive.”
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
3 min read
