The state health department will start a drive to vaccinate the 10,000-odd people working in medicine shops across Calcutta and their owners, officials of the department said.

“Employees at medicine shops and their owners need to be inoculated as part of the vaccine outreach programme because they are exposed to a large number of customers throughout the day,” an official at Swastha Bhavan said.

“Druggists and chemists had appealed to us to consider them as frontline workers and arrange for their vaccination along with transport workers, hawkers and grocery shop owners. We will start the programme next week.”

In Calcutta, the vaccination of the staff and owners of pharma shops will be carried out in association with the civic body.

The city has been split into five zones — central, east, northwest, Calcutta wholesale and south. An assistant director of drug control is in charge of each of the zones.

The officials will receive applications for vaccination from shop owners.

The health department has begun vaccinating bus, minibus, autorickshaw and taxi drivers, along with vendors and hawkers across Calcutta. With the new group coming within the ambit of vaccination, senior officials at Swasthya Bhavan said a larger number of people will be covered.

“Many people turning up at pharma shops looking for drugs later tested positive for the coronavirus. So the staff at the pharma shops and the owners are at high risk of contracting the disease and in turn can become super spreaders. So we have decided to vaccinate them at the earliest,” said a Swasthya Bhavan official.

“The Calcutta Municipal Corporation officials decide on the venues for each zone. The drive to vaccinate medicine shop owners and employees will continue in phases.”