Nearby vaccination centres for elderly and differently-abled okayed

NEW DELHI, May 27
Elderly and differently-abled citizens will now have Near-to-Home Covid Vaccination Centres (NHCVC) for easier access to receiving the crucial shots.
The Union Health Ministry on Thursday accepted the proposal and recommendations of a Technical Expert Committee under the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) on the guidelines for NHCVC for elderly and differently-abled citizens. The Government said NHCVC will follow a community-based, flexible and people-centric approach.
NHCVC sites will be pre-identified in collaboration with community groups and RWAs. Such sites could be at Panchayat Bhawan, sub-health centres and health & wellness centres with adequate space, community halls, RWA premises, polling booths, schools etc.
According to the operational guidelines, these sites should have a vaccination room and a waiting area with appropriate access for the target group, for example, a ramp for wheelchair access, and an observation room to ensure waiting for 30 minutes post-vaccination.
The Committee’s recommendations are aimed at ensuring vaccination of senior citizens and differently-abled having limited mobility due to their physical condition.
The eligible population for covid-19 vaccination at NHCVC will include all individuals above 60 years of age with no vaccination or first dose vaccination and individuals below 60 years with disability due to physical or medical conditions.
The Union Health Ministry has communicated the detailed guidelines to all States and UTs.
“A community-based approach is to be followed where sessions can be conducted in non-health facility-based settings that are nearer to home. Based on the cohort of the eligible population, District Task Force (DTF)/Urban Task Force (UTF) will decide the location of NHCVC to maximize the reach of services to the target population, reduce vaccine wastage along with causing minimal impact on the existing health services," the guidelines stated.
“NHCVC will be linked to an existing CVC for vaccination purpose; the CVC in charge will be responsible to provide the vaccine, logistics and human resources required for vaccination," the guidelines said.
The Government said once identified and verified for meeting CVC criteria, all such sites will be registered on the Co-WIN portal. Each team at NHCVC will comprise of five members–team leader (necessarily a doctor), vaccinator, vaccination officer 1 for Co-WIN registration and/or verification of beneficiary.
Vaccination Officer-2 and 3 for crowd control, assistance to vaccinator, ensuring 30 minutes observation of beneficiaries following vaccination for any AEFI, according to the guidelines. In case there is a group of target beneficiaries under one roof like old age homes, the NHCVC can be organised at that site.
The guidelines also include details regarding registration and appointment of beneficiaries-either in advance, on-site or Facilitated Cohort Registration process on Co-WIN, line listing of beneficiaries, identification of NHCVC sites and linkage with existing CVC, micro-planning for vaccination sessions at NHCVC, facilitating travel, and making the vaccination center friendly.              Livemint