BENGALURU: With the first tranche of Covid-19 vaccines expected in the state in a day or two and the vaccination drive scheduled to begin on January 16, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Sunday reviewed the arrangements being made for safe supply and storage of vaccine vials at the old office of the Health and Family Welfare Department at Anand Rao Circle here.
In all, there are 88 vaccine stores in Karnataka’s immunisation cold chain network, as per data quoted by the minister.
The two largest state storage facilities are in Bengaluru and Belagavi, followed by five regional storage facilities in Chitradurga, Kalaburagi, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru and Bagalkot, he said.
There are 30 district vaccine storage facilities, in addition to one corporation vaccine storage in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits. Besides, there are 50 block vaccine stores and 2,767 cold chain points.
At least 900 logistic vehicles have been kept ready to transport the vaccines to various locations. The vaccines will first reach the two state storage facilities in Bengaluru and Belagavi.
From there, they will be distributed to the five regional stores and onward to the 30 district vaccine storage facilities.
Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar reviews arrangements for the safe supply and
storage of vaccine vials at the Health and Family Welfare Department’s old office
at Anand Rao Circle, in Bengaluru on Sunday
13.9 lakh frontline workers to get vaccine in first phase of trial
The corporation vaccine storage in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits will receive the vaccines directly from the Bengaluru state storage facility.
“In light of the vaccination drive beginning on January 16, we have managed the storage well and are geared up to roll out Covid-19 vaccines to every nook and corner of Karnataka.
Up to 13.90 lakh vaccine vials are expected in the first phase meant for health care and frontline workers.
We have two walk-in coolers in Bengaluru which can store 45 lakh doses, and 24 lakh syringes are expected to arrive. We have one walk-in freezer which can store 40 lakh doses and one more will come from the Government of India,” Sudhakar explained.
The health minister said there is no fear surrounding taking the vaccine and elected representatives are waiting for guidelines from the Centre on when they can take it.
Crowd management will not be an issue when health care workers are getting vaccinated, but when the vaccine is rolled out to the general public, it will be a challenge which they will handle, he stressed.
CONCLUSION
From the two dry runs conducted recently in the state, the State Government observed technical and digital glitches. “The OTPs should reach the right persons. All these issues have been sorted out.
The vaccine will take a few months to reach all people in Karnataka,” he added. Private hospitals too are preparing for vaccine storage.
The MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital in Bengaluru will have 10 vaccination centres for its 3,500 Covid frontline staff on its sprawling premises. “We have two vaccination centres each at the two hospital wings, one each in our medical, pharmacy and nursing colleges,” MSR Memorial.
