India has published detailed guidelines for the massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign that will start soon. The central government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 million people during the first vaccination phase. Pfizer, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech have applied for marketing authorization for their vaccines. The vaccination campaign will begin once India approves the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The COVID-19 vaccine will be offered first to healthcare workers, frontline workers, and people over 50 years of age, followed by people under 50 with associated comorbidities based on the evolving pandemic situation, and finally to the rest of the population. on the epidemiology of the disease and the availability of vaccines.
The priority group over 50 years of age can be subdivided into those over 60 years of age and those aged 50 to 60 years for the purposes of the implementation phase depending on the situation of the pandemic and the availability of the vaccine.
Take a look at the Center’s COVID-19 vaccination plan
1) The COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) system, a digitized platform, will be used to track beneficiaries enlisted for vaccination and coronavirus vaccines in real time.
2) At the vaccination site, only pre-registered beneficiaries will be vaccinated according to prioritization. There will be no provision for field searches.
3) States have been asked to assign a manufacturer’s vaccine to a district to avoid mixing different COVID-19 vaccines in the field.
4) According to the ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Operational Guidelines’, all measures should be taken to avoid exposing the vaccine carrier, vaccine vials or ice packs to direct sunlight, depending on the document. Vaccines and diluents should be kept inside the vaccine container with the lid closed until a recipient arrives at the center for vaccination.
5) “There may be no Vaccine Vial Monitors (VVM) and the expiration date on the COVID-19 vaccine label, this should not deter vaccinators from using the vaccine. At the end of the session, the The vaccine carrier with all ice packs and unopened vaccine vials should be shipped back to the cold chain distribution point, “the guidelines stated.
6) The vaccination team will be made up of five members, he said. Each session should be planned for 100 beneficiaries per day. If the session site has adequate logistics and space available for the waiting room and observation room along with crowd management arrangements, one more vaccination officer can be added to create a session for 200 beneficiaries, indicated the guidelines.
7) “The latest electoral roll of the Lok Sabha and the election of the legislative assembly will be used to identify the population aged 50 and over,” the guidelines stated.
8) Twelve photo identity documents, including voter ID, Aadhar card, driver’s license, passport and pension document, will be required for self-registration on the Co-WIN website, he added.
“These may include the challenge of ensuring that more than 1.3 billion people in India receive timely and objective information and updates on the progress and benefits of the vaccine launch, anxiety, and public inquiries about the government’s decision to prioritizing vaccine administration, apprehension about introduced vaccines after a short trial raising safety concerns and fear of adverse events, misconceptions about vaccine efficacy, rumors and negative narratives in media / networking spaces and the laxity observed in public adherence to appropriate COVID behavior, “the document stated.
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