Goa govt identifies 8 hospitals for vaccinating 18,000 healthcare workers

The Goa government has identified

eight hospitals for the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination in the coastal state where around 18,000 health care workers will receive the doses, an official said on Sunday.

As many as 100 vaccinations would be done at each of these eight facilities in a day, which amounts to 800 inoculations per day, state immunisation officer Dr Rajendra Borkar told PTI.

"The state government has identified five government- run hospitals and three private facilities where vaccine would be administered to health care workers," he said.

The short-listed government hospitals are - Goa Medical College (near Panaji), Hospicio Hospital (Margao), Asilo Hospital (Mapusa), Chicalim Health Centre (Vasco), Sub District Hospital (Ponda).

The private facilities identified for the task are - Manipal Hospital (near Panaji), Healthway Hospital (Old Goa) and Victor Hospital (Margao), he said.

The state task force for immunisation headed by health secretary Amit Satija has also identified 18,000-odd health workers who will receive doses during the first phase, the official said.

The central government on Saturday said India will launch its COVID-19 vaccination drive from January 16, with priority to be given to nearly three crore health care and frontline workers.

Borkar said along with the rest of country, Goa will also roll out its vaccination programme on January 16.

All the health care workers who will be given the vaccine would be monitored for side-effects, Borkar said.

The task force has called for a review meeting on Monday with nodal officers and representatives of the eight hospitals to discuss the immunisation provess, he said.

Goa has already conducted two dry runs to assess its preparedness for the vaccination drive.

On Saturday, Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 81 and reached 51,790, while the death toll rose to 746 with two more people succumbing to the infection.

So far, 50,177 people have recovered from COVID-19, leaving the state with 867 active cases, as per official figures.