Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said the Central government has promised 1 crore coronavirus vaccine shots to the state in the first phase.
Reddy told the Assembly about the Centre’s promise during a discussion on the pandemic on the last day of the winter session.
He said the state will provide the vaccine to frontline staff numbering about 7 lakh in the first phase, followed by 3.6 lakh healthcare workers and 90 lakh senior citizens.
The state is framing guidelines with regard to the distribution of vaccines and developing storage and transport facilities.
“Cold chain storage units are needed to store the vaccine between 2 – 8 degrees centigrade. So far, 4,065 units were set up, in addition to 29 refrigerated vehicles to transport the vaccine. Since the vaccination has to be done by professionals, 19,000 ANMs will be roped in and even Asha workers will be trained for additional support,” said Reddy.
The Chief Minister said the state government has constituted task force committees at village, mandal, and district levels to coordinate the effective implementation.