Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 21: Dogra Sahayata Kendra (DSK), an initiative of Dogra Sadar Sabha is operating COVID Help Centers as DSKs in Jammu Province at districts and other units level.
The Core Committee carried out a detailed survey of the vaccination and other preventive plans at their Dogra Sahayata Kendras. DSK Incharge Media Cell, Gambhir Dev Singh Charak pointed out that although the UT Administration is appealing to people through advertisements for getting vaccinated at the earliest but vaccines are reportedly not available at many of the Vaccination Centers. People are made to stand in long queues at Vaccination Centers unmindful of Covid-19 SOPs at different centers. They are not even sure if the vaccination shall be made available or not and if it is provided then for how many desirous individuals will get it on that particular day.
Recommendations for the storage of COVID-19 vaccines (Covishield and Covaxine) un-opened multi-dose vial should ideally be stored and transported in refrigerated conditions at 2 degree Celcius to 8 degree Celcius whereas opened multi dose vial after first puncture should be used within six hours when stored at room temperature upto 30 degree Celcius or else 48 hours when stored under refrigerated conditions between 2 degree to 8 degree celcius and after this, the vial must be discarded and wasted doses recorded. In the present scenario where there are frequent power cuts in the Urban areas of the Jammu Province, the availability of uninterrupted power supply round the clock in Suburban areas and villages is even more worsely affected which might have resulted in the inability of the vaccine centres in rural and suburban areas to maintain the recommended temperature for the storage of these COVID-19 vaccine vials.
This will indeed hamper the realization of the most ambitious campaign of the Government of India being carried out under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh requested that a clear message should be given to the people regarding centre-wise quantity of vaccine available at various centers. The location and availability/ non availability should be publicized through media for each day as a calendar and adhered to. That will save futile commuting, exposures to people who at times come from long distances.
He appealed all the heads of the DSK sub units to work on ground and find out the lapses or lacunae in the arrangement of vaccination of people at far flung areas and report back, as this vaccination programme matters for the life and death of people.
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