Maharashtra: Covid vaccine for general public after 6 months

Even as the state received 9.63 lakh doses of Covishield on Tuesday, the authorities expect the first two phases of vaccination, which will cover around 25 lakh healthcare and frontline workers, to be completed by the end of March, after which the third and largest phase of the vulnerable group is expected to begin.

The general population is expected to get the dose after it, which means the wait for them ranges between three and six months.

Of the three crore people to be inoculated across the country in the two phases, 25 lakh, including eight lakh healthcare workers, will be from Maharashtra.

The state machinery expects the first round for healthcare workers to be completed by the end of January and the second round for frontline workers to begin in the first week of February.

“The data of the healthcare workers is being registered by Tuesday midnight, while the registration of frontline workers will be completed by the midnight of January 25. With around 40,000-50,000 people being vaccinated daily, the first lot of health workers is expected to be completed in two weeks. The immunisation of the first two phases is expected to be completed by early March,” said an official from the health department, on condition of anonymity.

The official said the third phase, in which the vulnerable population of comorbid people and those over 50 years is being covered, may take longer, as it will have more than 2.5 crore people in Maharashtra.

“Decisions on the cost of the vaccine for the third phase, timeline for the vaccine to people outside the prioritised groups are to be taken by the Centre. Once 60% of the vaccination in the first two phases is completed, the Centre would take a call on the drive for the third phase. The Centre expects more vaccine to throng the market and clinical trials for some of the vaccines to be completed. The Centre also expects commercial sale of the vaccine by then, reducing the demand for inoculation from the public healthcare chain,” the official said.

“The Central government has adopted a step-by-step approach on vaccination. The three phases are covering most vulnerable groups currently and the availability for the common population will be decided in next three to six months. It all depends on multiple factors, including clinical trials, availability of the vaccines, supply, among others. Currently, the approvals are for emergency use of the vaccines and they are expected to be available for commercial use only after the general approval to them,” said Dr Shashank Joshi, leading endocrinologist and member of the state-appointed task force for vaccination.

Maharashtra government has its own chain of 3,135 cold chain systems, including one at state level, nine at divisional levels, 34 in districts and 27 in municipal corporations.

“The transportation of the vaccine will be handled by outsourced agencies, which are empanelled for the vaccination drive undertaken by the state government for years,” said an official.