Mumbai, which became a Covid-19 hotspot in March, is set to begin immunizing 1.26 lakhs of healthcare workers from the day. Stock of vaccines arrives. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has 1,367 trained vaccinators on hand and plans to immunize 8,000 to 12,000 people in one day at eight centers if enough doses are supplied to the metropolis.
How will the beneficiaries be contacted?
The BMC has fed data of 1.26 lakh from health workers in Covid Vaccine Intelligence Work Software (Co-WIN). Civic officials expect vaccine stocks to reach Mumbai after fifteen days. When you arrive, Co-WIN’s automated system will select the registered healthcare workers sequentially and send them an SMS with details of the date, shift and center where they are supposed to be vaccinated. BMC has decided to have two shifts, from 8 to 14 hours, and the second from 14 to 20 hours. Mumbai has eight centers completed for phase 1 vaccination: DR RN Cooper Hospital (which is the model vaccination center), KEM, Sion, Nair, Rajawadi, VN Desai, Kandivali Shatabdi and Bandra Bhabha Hospital. More giant centers and smaller hospitals can be added later.
Vaccination centers in medical schools will each have 10 teams of vaccinators and their goal is to immunize 2,000 people a day, while smaller peripheral hospitals will have at least five vaccinators and will target up to 1,000 beneficiaries. With 8,000 to 12,000 immunizations per day, BMC aims to finish delivering the first dose in 15 to 20 days, provided they have a steady supply of vaccine vials.
Healthcare workers, including physicians, nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives, paramedics, who miss the scheduled vaccination appointment will be put at the bottom of the list and contacted again at the bottom.
What if there are doubts in coming for the first or second dose?
This is the main concern of the Department of Public Health. They plan to follow ‘IEC’ (information, education, communication) to dispel myths, fears and rumors about the available vaccine. The central government has published a guideline on the “Covid-19 Vaccine Communication Strategy” and has recommended the use of videos and counseling techniques to promote immunization. Videos of doctors explaining the vaccination process will be distributed. “Let’s say that if we find that several health workers from a hospital refuse to come, we will contact the hospital director and organize a group counseling session,” said a senior health official.
However, the state government and BMC have remained firm in their position not to force immunization on people and to use only counseling as a method to encourage good participation.
How will the crowds be handled at the vaccine centers?
Recipients will be asked to visit from 8 am to 2 pm or 2 pm to 8 pm. Each will be assigned a vaccinator. Each center will have a team of five officials, a security guard, a registration officer, a person who will vaccinate called vaccinator, another to observe any adverse event and an officer to monitor the center in general.
Discussions are still going on, but in case of overcrowding, BMC is considering having a token system at the entrance. Health Executive Director Dr. Mangala Gomare said that an electronic screen will show which token number is next and recipients can enter in their turn. “We will also have delegate physicians to check the vaccination booths as the immunization takes place,” said Gomare.
Where will the vaccine be stored?
Mumbai has 5,000 square feet of space in the building owned by Kanjurmarg BMC to store 1.2 crore doses. The facility will have two cold rooms, 40 cubic meters each, which can store 50-60 lakh doses each. This facility is still under construction. Until the Kanjurmarg facility is ready, BMC will make its F South office in Parel the main storage facility. From there, the vials will be transferred to the vaccine centers. Each center can store 50,000 doses in an ice line cooler. In addition, Gomare said he has proposed the purchase of a 20 cubic meter freezer. There are 300 coolers available to transport the vaccine from one point to another.
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Future steps
After 1.26 lakh health workers are immunized, the next phase will include vaccinating frontline workers such as police and defense personnel, municipal staff, drivers and BEST drivers. For the second phase, BMC will connect giant facilities and other peripheral hospitals such as vaccination centers. “We are also continually training our staff in vaccination. The number of vaccinators will continue to increase, ”said Dr Sheela Jagtap, Mumbai Immunization Officer.
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