Manipur Health department is making preparations such that when the COVID-19 vaccine is ready in the country the state will start the vaccination programmes without much problems, said Manipur Health director Dr Rajo on Friday.
The Health director expressed hope of the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country soon. He was addressing a press conference at the office of the state Health department in Imphal as a part of the department’s weekly media briefing on COVID-19 update.
Dr Rajo said that the preparation is being made on the instruction of the Union Health ministry. He also said priority will be given to the healthcare workers and healthcare service providers during the first phase of the vaccination programme. A database is being prepared under the initiative of the Union Health ministry to give priority to health care workers and health care service providers, he added.
During the press conference in which top officials of the Health department also attended, the director said that the rate of the spread of the pandemic in the state is under control. “A concerted effort of the state government and other stakeholders has made possible to control the spread of the pandemic to a large extent”, he also said.
The Health director then said that ground preparations for mass testing of people are almost completed and collection of samples which the Health department is targeting to begin from the most affected districts of Imphal West and Imphal East will begin soon. “The mass testing drive is to be conducted in coordination with local level COVID-19 Awareness and Appropriate Behaviour Enforcement Committees.
The committees were constituted under the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) which has been started implemented in the state from the first week of this current month, he said.
Asserting that unless people abide by the SOPs strictly, the state government alone will not be able to contain the spread of the disease, the Health director appealed to the people to adhere strictly to the SOP while celebrating upcoming festivals including Diwali and Ningol Chakouba.
Dr Rajo then said that in the absence of vaccines to control the viral infection, strict adherence to the SOPs is the only way to keep safe from the deadly disease.
“All efforts of the state government and the Health department to contain the spread of the disease entirely depend on the strict observance of the SOPs”, he also said.