Pune: The district administration has prepared the COVID19 vaccine distribution and actual vaccination plan for Pune district. The district officials have identified 31,915 frontline healthcare beneficiaries for the COVID-19 vaccination who will be given two doses of the vaccine in an interval of 28 days.

A 'Pune District Action Force' has been created by the District Collector office under the chairmanship of District Collector Dr Rajesh Deshmukh. This task force was asked to prepare a plan before December 12 for the COVID19 vaccination program to be implemented in the district.

Accordingly, the first meeting of the Pune District Action Force was conducted on Monday (December 7). It was decided in this meeting that the COVID19 doses will be given to the select healthcare frontline workers and other medicos, research staff and other personnel on priority in the first phase.

The healthcare workers broadly include frontline workers, nurses and supervisors, medical officers, paramedical staff, support staff, medical students, scientists and research staff and other personnel.

According to the plan prepared by the district administration, in the first phase, health workers in government and private hospitals will be given two doses of the vaccine, 28 days apart. About 31915 employees will benefit in the first phase of vaccination. This staff will include medical officers, supervisors, nurses, health department clerks, and ward boys.

Rajesh Deshmukh said, "827 vaccinators, including doctors and trained nurses, will be appointed for administering the intramuscular vaccine. There are 185 ice lined refrigerators (with temperature 2-8 degrees Celsius) and 157 deep freezers (with temperature range up to -20 degrees Celsius; where frozen ice packs can be kept and prepared)."

The COVID Vaccination Beneficiary Management System (CVBMS) website has been launched by the Central Government for the planning and execution of the vaccination. The website will also provide information about health workers and staff who will be vaccinated.

The authorities have so far identified 1.10 lakh beneficiaries, as part of the process of creating a database of healthcare workers, for administering the vaccine once it is available.

Deshmukh said, "After receiving instructions from the government, we have started training our staff."