15 Covid-19 vaccination centres set up across Sindh

The who, when, where and how of the process finalised

KARACHI:

With the Sindh government set to begin vaccination for Covid-19 on Wednesday, preparatory measures for the purpose are near completion in Karachi and rest of the province. A total of 15 vaccination centres have been set up across Sindh, with 10 of them established in the metropolis.

A team of the National Command and Operation Centre, accompanied by Sindh Health Services DG Irshad Memon, EPI Project Director Dr Akram Sultan and the provincial health department officials visited the centre at Khaliq Dina Hall in Karachi on Monday and finalised arrangements.

First in line

The government will be inoculating frontline health workers - doctors, paramedics and laboratory technicians directly dealing with Covid-19 patients and samples of infected persons, as well as teams conducting door-to-door tests - serving at government hospitals in the initial phase of vaccination, here in Sindh. And even among them, those in Karachi and Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad and Jamshoro are to be given priority.

According to Dr Memon, 170,000 health workers have been registered so far and 1,000 doctors and nurses have been trained for the inoculation. With the arrival of the first consignment of the vaccination, 80,000 healthcare workers will be vaccinated and the number will increase as more doses arrive. The second consignment is expected to reach in Febraury as well, he added.

Dr Memon further added that people above 60-years-old will be vaccinated in the second phase while the individuals suffering from different diseases and those below 60 years of age will be vaccinated in the third phase. People below the age of 18 years and pregnant women would be exempted from the vaccination process, he added.

Vaccination centres

Karachi’s seven districts - East, West, Central, South, Malir, Korangi and Keamari - are among the 10 where the vaccine will be administered to frontline health workers in the first phase. Apart from the Khaliq Dina Hall, centres have been set up at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Sindh Government Hospital in Korangi No5, Dow International Dental College Hospital, Aga Khan University Hospital, the Sindh Government Hospital in New Karachi, Sindh Government’s Children’s Hospital at Nagan Chowrangi, the Sindh Government Qatar Hospital in Orangi Town, the Sindh Government Hospital in Liaquatabad and the BHQ in Malir district.

As for elsewhere in the province, the centres have been established at the new district health quarter building in Badin, Chandka Medical College in Larkana, old IHS in Sukkur, and old IHS in Shaheed Benazirabad.

According to Karachi health director Dr Nadeem Sheikh, each vaccination centre would have 10 cubicles, with 12 to 15 vaccinators deployed in each, administering the doses to 10 persons simultaneously at a time.

He told The Express Tribune that 4,200 vaccinators, who are employees of the health department, would administer vaccines in the province, and 1,100 of them will be deputed in the metropolis.

Besides vaccinators, doctors and other paramedical staff too will be deployed at these centres so that immediate medical assistance could be provided if any person starts having a reaction after being administered a dose.

Briefing the NCOC team on Monday, Services Medical Hospital Superintendent Dr Farhat said that at Khaliq Dina Hall a total of 15 cubicles have been set up and 15 health workers can be inoculated at a time.

Vaccine administration

The NCOC, together with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), has prepared a list of frontline workers who are to be inoculated in the first phase and the list has been sent to the Sindh health department.

According to Dr Farhat, the vaccination process stipulates verification from National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the healthcare workers would have to show the One Time Password received from NADRA to be vaccinated. He added that this will be followed by the next step in which the healthcare workers will have to complete a questionnaire, comprising 15 questions. The vaccine will finally be administered to the healthcare workers after checking their blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. Dr Farhat said that the vaccination will be carried out from 8am to 8pm. An emergency room has also been set up at the center in case anyone gets a reaction after being vaccinated, he added.

Procurement and storage

The Sindh government has, reportedly, contacted three pharmaceutical companies to purchase jabs on its own but has been awaiting the Centre’s permission to do so.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said that the vaccine imported from China’s Sinopharm - that is to be administered beginning tomorrow - is 90 per cent effective against the coronavirus. The districts where the number of positive cases is higher will be prioritised and number of vaccination centres will increase by the time the inoculation process reaches its final stage, she added.

Meanwhile, Dr Sultan stated at Khaliq Dina Hall that the vaccine will be brought in a cold chain vehicle and be stored at a controlled temperature. Dr Farhat too assured that cold chain arrangements have been made and generators have been installed to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2021.