Representative image | Photo credit: PTI
Key points
- The center has aligned cold storage facilities with temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius
- Indian regulators are considering three vaccines for emergency use authorization
- Only 100 people are likely to get vaccinated against COVID-19 per session
New Delhi: With three COVID-19 vaccine candidates under active consideration by India’s drug regulator, the country is gearing up for its mega vaccination campaign to deliver the doses to the most vulnerable people in the next six to eight months.
The government has deployed its vast electoral machinery to deliver 60 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 30 crore of Indians, through conventional cold chain systems.
In the first phase of the program, the Center has planned to deliver 60 crore shots at two jabs each to 30 crore people, including those over 50 and those under 50 with severe comorbidities, medical care and frontline workers.
“The immediate task was to protect lives and the government had prepared a plan to administer vaccines to 30 crore people – or doses of 60 crore at two injections each – in the first part of the program,” said NITI member Aayog, VK. Paul, Reuters reported. .
Paul, who is also the head of an expert group coordinating efforts to address the pandemic in the country, further said that of the 30 million people who will be the first to receive the vaccine, including 26 million people over 50 years, 1 nucleus under 50 years of age with severe comorbidities and 3 million frontline workers.
“As it looks as of now, optimistically, it seems possible to cover the previous stock of Rs 30 crore in six to eight months,” he added.
Cold storage facilities lined up
He further said the government has aligned cold storage facilities with temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius (36 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit).
NITI member Aayog also said that Indian regulators are considering three vaccines for emergency use authorization, including those from Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech. Paul, however, said that Pfizer’s limited stocks and its requirements for extreme storage conditions of minus 70 degrees Celsius or below would likely limit its use in India, which lacks such infrastructure.
“In a theoretical scenario, where there is no vaccine with the conventional cold chain requirement, capacities of minus 70 degrees Celsius will have to be created, and we will,” Paul said.
100 people to be vaccinated per session
According to a draft SOP from the Union Ministry of Health, only 100 people are likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 per session. The number of people is expected to increase to 200 per session if sufficient resources are available.
“If in any case, more than 200 people are being vaccinated in one session, then a full team of 5 people will have to be deployed separately (one vaccination officer and four vaccination officers),” he said.
