Pune: The inclusion of teacher and non-teaching staff in the priority group ahead of plans for physically open school has caused full immunization of 63% of the total staff deployed in government and private schools in the Metropolitan Pune region (PMR), the latest district administrative report said.
There were a total of 56,189 teachers and non-teaching staff who worked in all schools in the region.
From them, 35,624 have received a dose of Covid-19 vaccine so far while 77% of staff have received the first dose.
The percentage of vaccination with the first dose was higher (92%) at a managed government / city school.
“Creating a separate category on centralized Cowin Portal will prioritize and facilitate 100% fully immunization of teachers and non-teaching staff in the next few days,” Sanjay Deshmukh, Assistant Director, Pune Region, said.
As a separate category for teachers and non-teaching staff have been introduced in the Cowin portal, it will be easier for teachers to order slots in government vaccination centers and the city government to utilize free immunization.
For walk-in, they (teachers) can show their identity cards to get priority on priority, he added.
The Union Government has introduced the ‘Teacher’ and ‘Non-Teaching’ category on the portal to accelerate full immunization in this segment from September 1.
Many states consider reopening school after Diwali.
There are 97 lakh teachers in this country.
In addition, the central government has allocated more than two additional Covid-19 Crore Vaccines to the countries to vaccinate this group with priority.
Most teachers have received the first dose of vaccines and steps to introduce separate categories especially to accelerate full vaccination in the segment.
“It is very important for teachers and school support staff to be fully vaccinated as part of preparation to reopen the school,” said Sanjay Patil, Chair of the Indian Medical Association of the Indian Hospital Board.