India to use electoral data for jab
The first phase of the vaccination will cover healthcare, frontline workers, people from the general population who are over 50
Hyderabad: The often contested and periodic targets of various political parties — the electoral rolls — are all set to come into their own, this time for the identification of beneficiaries who will be among the early groups of people to be identified for receiving Covid-19 vaccine.
Among the target groups to receive the vaccine are those older than 50 years, and this is where the electoral rolls, with their nearly comprehensive data pertaining to individuals — names, addresses, and their age — will become all-important.
“We will be using data from the electoral rolls for identifying people in the vulnerable age group, those over 50,” Director of Health Services, Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, said on Sunday.
The first phase of the vaccination will cover healthcare, frontline workers, people from the general population who are over 50 and those under 50 with comorbidities in the state.
“We have already identified 2.9 lakh healthcare workers who will be among the first to receive the vaccine. Then the second group is from government departments on the frontline, such as the police, civic workers, and personnel from line departments involved directly with Covid-19 control operations," Dr Rao told Deccan Chronicle.
With respect to nomination for vaccination, it will up to the respective departments to identify their staff and workers who should be among the first to receive the vaccination. In addition to identification of beneficiaries through electoral rolls, others with comorbidities can register themselves online for receiving the vaccine through the central government's Co-WIN app.
“Information on when people can register using the app will be announced,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.
The state government has trained 10,000 of its healthcare staff for administering the vaccine and the target is to reach 10 lakh vaccinations a day, with each healthcare worker expected to vaccinate 100 people.
“We are all geared up to start vaccination within two to three days of receiving the doses,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.