Odisha Govt urges Centre to include journalists as front line workers

TBB BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, MARCH 17, 2021

      The Odisha government on Wednesday requested the Union Health Ministry for inclusion of journalists and many categories of persons who are at risk of exposure to infection due to the nature of their work, as frontline workers for Covid-19 vaccination.

In a letter to Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, Odisha Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra requested for inclusion of journalists, servitors of Shree Jagannath Temple and Shree Lingaraj Temples, employees working at airports, railways and seaports for Covid-19 vaccination.

He also requested to include people engaged in maintenance of essential services like electricity and water supply as front line workers for Covid-19 vaccination.

Notably, officials from different departments who were engaged in Covid-19 surveillance and containment measures at state and district level are being vaccinated as front line workers in Odisha since February 2021.