Covid vaccine dry run to take place in 3 centres in Nellore district

Nellore: District collector K V N Chakradhar Babu Covid vaccination dry run will be conducted in three centres identified in the district on Saturday. Addressing a meeting of the task force on vaccination here on Friday, the collector enquired about the training to the staff members and other arrangements for the dry run.

He said Government General Hospital in Nellore, primary health centre at Varigonda in TP Gudur mandal and urban health centre at Kranti Nagar in Nellore had been selected as the session sites for the rehearsal.

Initially, medical and health staff, ICDS employees, government doctors, MBBS and nursing students, private doctors and private nursing staff will be vaccinated. Frontline staff such as the government employees, would be vaccinated in the second phase and people who crossed 50 years of age and with comorbidities would be vaccinated in the third phase. Further, all other normal population would be provided vaccine in various stages, he explained.

The collector said the dry run was very crucial in the vaccination process and added that all eligible would be vaccinated on a priority basis as soon as the vaccine reaches the district. He said the people who have already been infected with the virus would also be administered vaccine.

He said they were collecting Aaadhar data, phone number and other information of the people who would be getting the vaccine during the dry run. Administration will send phone messages to them on the date and time of vaccination, he said. He requested the people not to believe messages circulated on social media regarding vaccine and rely on communication of the district medical and health authorities.

Chakradhar Babu also said they had conducted tests on all UK returnees and there had been no confirmation on the new strain. He appealed to the people not to believe any rumours on the new strain being spread in the district. People have to follow Covid guidelines such as wearing face masks, maintain social distance, and wash hands thoroughly in case they visited crowded places, he advised.

Gudur sub-collector Ronanki Gopala Krishna, municipal commissioner K Dinesh Kumar, district medical and health officer Dr G Rajyalakshmi, CEO of the zilla parishad P Suseela, RDO SK Hussain Saheb and others were present.