Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting on Thursday to assess the progress of research and the vaccine development ecosystem to combat Covid-19. Be it tests, vaccines and drugs, the solution has to be cost-effective, readily available and scalable, the Prime Minister said. The meeting was attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, NITI Aayog (Health) Fellow, Senior Scientific Advisor, senior scientists and other officials.
The meeting comes as three vaccines are currently being tested in India. Bharat Biotech, which is developing a native vaccine in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), is conducting its second phase of testing, the results of which are expected soon.
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Praising the efforts of Indian vaccine developers and manufacturers, the prime minister said the government is committed to facilitating and supporting all these efforts. But India also has to attend to the world, the prime minister said.
As vaccine trials progress, the Ministry of Health has begun to address issues such as storage, distribution, prioritization of vaccines, etc. Within the framework of the National Group of Experts on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 which is chaired by Dr. VK Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog, there are subgroups that analyze these various aspects of the development, acquisition and distribution of vaccines, including one that looks at cold chain requirements.
The Center has begun to identify government and private facilities to create vaccine storage centers. The focus is on maintaining cold storage as most vaccines need to be stored and distributed at a fixed temperature, otherwise the vaccine becomes ineffective.
During his meeting on Thursday, the prime minister took stock of the health ministry’s mechanism for the distribution and delivery of vaccines.
India has around 27,000 vaccine storage centers in the 700+ districts that are connected through eVIN; with at least 50,000 temperature loggers to monitor storage temperatures as accurately as possible so that at least 40,000 front-line workers manage logistics.
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