Work continues at a good pace at Qatar National Convention Center, the headquarters for vaccination against the COVID-19 virus, as part of Qatar's expansion of the national program for vaccination against the virus.

The center is under the supervision and management of the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, volunteers from the Qatar Red Crescent Society and the administration of Qatar National Convention Center.

The first vaccination phase in the new headquarters, which began last Thursday, focused on vaccinating teachers and school personnel, in addition to other essential workers and community members who meet the eligibility criteria.

The Director of the Office of Institutional Project Management at PHCC and Director of the National Campaign for COVID-19 Vaccine Project Dr. Yasmin Ali Morad said that the work strategy is based on vaccinating the most vulnerable populations such as the elderly, people with severe chronic conditions, health workers and other essential workers.

She added that the new vaccination headquarters at the National Convention Center will enable Qatar to increase its ability to vaccinate more essential workers and open more opportunities for the general public to receive the vaccine, and at the present time, all people at high risk or over the age of 60 years are urged to get the vaccine by setting an appointment and calling the announced numbers or visiting their health centers.

افتتاح مركز التطعيم ضد (كوفيد -19) في مركز قطر الوطني للمؤتمرات لتطعيم المعلمين وموظفي المدارس وأفراد المجتمع

Opening of the COVID-19 vaccination center at Qatar National Convention Centre for teachers, school administration staff and other community members pic.twitter.com/oefLJ8SdGk

— مؤسسة الرعاية الصحية الأولية (@PHCCqatar) February 24, 2021

Dr. Yasmine noted that to ensure community safety and a smooth and effective vaccination process, invitations are sent for appointments in a gradual and phased manner, and teachers and school staff will receive short text messages inviting them to come to the vaccination site during specific time periods.

She explained that the vaccine will be given only to those who have received an invitation, provided that it is shown when they attend the vaccination center, with the necessity to bring a valid Qatari ID and health care, while others are required to wait until they receive an invitation via SMS, noting that the card renewal service has also been provided in the center to reduce time and effort in this regard.

She indicated that the vaccination process will continue to proceed in the same way, that is, the vaccine will be given in two doses at the vaccination headquarters located at Qatar National Convention Center, with an interval of three weeks between the first and second doses, while visitors will be asked to carry the required cards when they come to the scheduled vaccination date, and they are required to apply preventive and precautionary measures, including wearing a mask, ensuring hand hygiene and maintaining social distancing.

She added that among the protocols for obtaining vaccination in the new center, attendance must be according to the time and specified day, and adherence to all measures in order to ensure that the work proceeds smoothly and quickly, noting that the time it takes to receive the vaccine will be less than one hour since the medical and training staff and the assisting administrative staff have sufficient experience to facilitate the matter to the public.

She indicated that the number of workers in the center reaches more than 500 individuals per day, and work starts from 7 in the morning until ten in the evening, with up to 16 working hours per day, seven days a week, to serve about 5,000 to 8,000 people, depending on the capacity of the center, and text messages are sent to the public to come in advance of the appointment.

On the mechanism for renewing appointments, she explained that in the event of non-attendance or attendance and leaving the place for any reason without obtaining vaccination, the person will be automatically contacted to obtain a new appointment, in order to ensure that everyone gets these doses, in an effort to secure and immunize society against this global pandemic.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Cover image: Primary Health Care Corporation

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar

Darlene

Start a discussion