Visakhapatnam: The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has geared up for the mega Covid19 vaccination drive on June 20 to cover nearly one lakh citizens in a single day. The drive will be held from 7 am to 5pm at all 580 Covid vaccination centers attached to respective village secretariat offices in all 98 wards from Bheemili to Anakapalli.
Speaking to DC, GVMC chief medical officer Dr K.S.L.G. Sastry said they identified nearly 90,000 people who are above 45 years and also mothers having children below 5 years. “Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is keen on covering all eligible mothers in the mega drive as a safety precaution to tackle the likely third wave of the Covid,” he said.
The people who already took the first dose can come for the second dose. “Earlier, we used to conduct the regular vaccination programme at only 32 designated centers in the city. But on Sunday, we will open nearly 580 centers to prevent crowds and infection of the virus besides easy accessibility,” Dr Sastry said.
All necessary arrangements like requisite benches, staff, electricity, computers, drinking water, and safety tools were provided at the vaccination centers as part of the mega drive, the city public health head said.
The ward volunteers were also instructed to mobilise the people and safely handle them at the centers, and a special orientation programme was also conducted on how to organise this drive without any interruptions, said GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana in an official release.
On the other hand, the state medical and health officials said that the number of Covid19 cases was also decreasing in the city compared with previous April and May. During the last 24 hours till June 19, Visakhapatnam district registered 215 fresh Covid19 cases and three deaths. Nearly 70 per cent of the cases were reported from the GVMC limits.
The city has nearly 25 lakh population. Nearly 20 per cent of the population was vaccinated so far at different levels including the private hospitals and regular vaccination centers, officials said.
