Allahabad: A majority of private hospitals in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj were dragging their feet over submission of details of doctors and other medical staff members for a possible deployment by the state administration to carry out Covid-19 vaccination drive, officials said.“We have 129 government hospitals, as well as community and primary health centres and posts, besides 1,235 private hospitals in the district. The details of doctors, nurses, paramedical and other staff were sought by us on October 23. Till date, mere 268 out of the 1,235 private hospitals have complied,” said district nodal officer for Covid-19, Dr Rishi Sahai.

Repeated reminders are being sent to those who have not yet complied with the directive. Meanwhile, uploading these details on the government specified portal for the vaccination is going on, he added. Despite the delay on this front, preparations have begun in Prayagraj for the safe storage and transportation of Covid-19 vaccines to various centres while maintaining appropriate temperature. The task of preparing a database of people to be vaccinated has been entrusted to the officials of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

UNDP district vaccine cold-chain manager Vinod Shukla said the names and other details of staff members of almost all government sector hospitals and institutions, amounting to 10,700, had arrived and were being uploaded. He conceded that it was the private hospitals that were dragging their feet, in turn, delaying the data feeding work. So far, 5,072 names and associated details were provided by 268 private sector hospitals till November 27, he added. Shukla said the main storage facility for vaccines was being constructed at Tej Bahadur Sapru (Beli) Hospital in the district. Around 50 ice-lined refrigerators, (ILR) capable of highly safe vaccine storage, with proper power backup, would be installed at this site. “We hope to have the facility ready by December,” he added. The ice lined refrigerator units were equipped with effective polyurethane foam (PUF) insulation that ensures long hold-over time in case of a power failure, the officer added.

“Likewise, for transport of the vaccines, we have a dedicated van that would have cold boxes with conditioning ice-packs to carry the vaccines, ensuring the right temperature,” said Shukla. District immunisation officer Dr Amit Srivastava said Rs 11.20 lakh had been sanctioned by the state government for getting the Covid-19 vaccine storage site ready. He said medical and health staff will be trained for administering the vaccine.

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