Mumbai medics' names added for COVID vaccination drive without consent

The countdown for the COVID19 vaccination programme slated to begin on January 16 across India has started But it has raised a barrage of questions in the minds of frontline staffers in the city which remain unanswered These are especially about voluntary registration as they claim their names have been registered for the vaccination programme by the civic corporation without taking their consentWhile the additional municipal commissioner has said the entire vaccination programme is voluntary some have questioned this How can it be voluntary participation for vaccination when I have not registered myself on the CoWIN mobile vaccine registration application nor have I uploaded personal details giving consent to take the vaccine asked a civicrun hospital doctorA senior doctor from a civicrun COVID Care Centre said it has submitted a list of 800 staff including doctors paramedical nurses and support staff to the civic health officials Asked whether the consent of the staff was taken before submission of the list the centre head said no The response was the same from many staffers at civicrun hospitalsParticipants in the dry run on Jan 8 at Cooper HospitalThere is a lot of ambiguity about other aspects of the vaccination programme as well Besides the consent issue doctors and medical staff are also unaware whether they should take the vaccine if they have recovered from COVID19 whether they will be penalised if they dont take it or if they can take it later etcI am attached to a civicrun hospital and my name is registered in the list of vaccine participants as a frontline warrior I have the right to know the pros and cons when my body will be injected with a vaccine against COVID19 I have the right to know the immediate shortterm and longterm efficacy of the vaccine Covishield or Covaxin that will be injected said a senior doctorWhat if I miss DDaySome staffers were concerned about missing the day they are called They wondered if they would get a chance to take the vaccine on a later date Or if departmental action could be taken against them for not taking the vaccineStaff prepare for the dry run on January 8 at Cooper HospitalA senior doctor from a peripheral hospital added We have submitted the list of our medical and nonmedical staff Some of our staffers in their fifties have tested positive for SARSCoV2 and it is presumed that they already have the required antibodies in their system But are they still expected to take the vaccine Some have comorbid health conditions but we have no clarity if they should take the vaccine These are not universally proven vaccines and every health care worker has the right to give their consent even if they are voluntarily being registered on the applicationIndias drugs regulator has approved the Oxford UniversityAstraZeneca vaccine Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country Most of our doctors are keen on the Serum vaccine but nobody knows which out of the two vaccines will be brought to Mumbai We dont have a choice of vaccine Also trial studies data of both vaccines has not been made public definitely raising concerns in even our minds explained a doctor from a peripheral hospitalDr Avinash Ankush senior medical officer heading the extended immunisation programme for the eastern suburbs of Mumbai said We must understand that this is purely a voluntary programme and there is no mandate that all healthcare workers registered on the mobile application CoWIN have to opt for the vaccinationDr Ankush further added On an average we have created teams of five which include 1 vaccinator and 4 vaccination officers who will be vaccinating 100 registered beneficiaries in their given slot On an average a peripheral hospital like Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar E can handle per day 1000 beneficiaries in the morning and afternoon shiftsSigned consent at centresDr T P Lahane director Directorate of Medical Education and Research and also Nodal Officer COVID Task force Maharashtra said about the consent of the registered health care workers The registered health care workers will get a mobile message from the application CoWIN and at the respective centres their signed consent will be takenThe COVID vaccine programme is monitored by BMC for Mumbai city and the State Public Health department committee has been formed to monitor the same across the state The state COVID Task force is providing the required support he addedWe have registered almost 126 lakh frontline health care workers doctors nurses and paramedical staff who directly come in contact with COVID19 patients in phase one They will be the first to get the vaccine and subsequent booster dose as and when the vaccination programme begins explained Suresh Kakani Additional Municipal Commissioner HealthThe second phase will have 135 lakh staffers the support staff teams including police conservation housekeeping caterers etc The Mumbai police have provided us with a list of 30000 policemen and officers who will get the vaccine We are presuming that by January 15 we should get the vaccines as the central government has decided to roll out the vaccination programme from January 16 and we are fully prepared Our dry run was also a success We have now shortlisted 15 hospitals and COVID Jumbo Centres for the vaccination programme and to ensure that crowds do not gather at a particular centre said KakaniAsked if he has registered his name for the vaccination programme Kakani said I have not registered myself on the mobile application but if my name is given in the list for uploading and if I get a message I will surely take the vaccine We do not know which vaccine we will get The entire programme is voluntaryWhen asked if any document or signature of staff is obtained for voluntary participation he said This is a voluntary programme health care workers who are registered should take the vaccine shot They may even change their mind at the last moment or not turn up to take the vaccine The application might generate a certificate for those who participated in the vaccine programmeDespite saying this when asked about a penalty for those who skipped or did not participate Kakani said As of now we have no information on the same nor we know if those people will be getting the vaccine at a later dateHighlights of vaccine programmePrime Minister reviews status of COVID19 and preparedness for vaccination drive to kick off on January 16 after the forthcoming festivals including Lohri Makar Sankranti Pongal Magh Bihu etcPriority will be given to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers estimated to be around 3 crore They will be followed by those above 50 years of age and the under50 population groups with comorbidities numbering around 27 croreThe vaccination exercise isn underpinned by the principles of peoples participation Jan Bhagidari utilizing experience of elections booth strategy and Universal Immunization Programme UIP there will be no compromise of existing healthcare services especially national programmes and primary health care no compromise on scientific and regulatory norms other SOPs and an orderly and smooth implementation driven by technologyThe Prime Minister was also apprised about the CoWIN Vaccine Delivery Management System The unique digital platform will provide real time information of vaccine stocks their storage temperature and individualised tracking of beneficiaries of the COVID19 vaccineThis platform will assist the programme managers across all levels through automated session allocation for preregistered beneficiaries their verification and for generating a digital certificate upon successful completion of the vaccine scheduleMore than 79 lakh beneficiaries have been registered on the platform As the vaccinators and vaccine administrators comprise a crucial pillar of the vaccination exercise their training process was detailed out At least 2360 participants were trained during national level Training of Trainers which comprised state immunisation officers cold chain officers IEC officials development partners etcMore than 61000 programme managers 2 lakh vaccinators and 37 lakh other vaccination team members have been trained so far at state district and block levels The Prime Minister was also apprised on the three phases of dry runs having been conducted across the country The third dry run was conducted on January 8 across 615 districts covering 4895 session sites in 33 StatesUTs