The Center will purchase the vaccine directly to make it available to priority groups free of charge through the existing network of states and districts. States have been asked not to chart separate procurement routes.
The existing digital platform and processes used for the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) are being improved to track the administration and movement of the Covid-19 vaccine, from procurement to storage and distribution to individual beneficiaries, as make the vaccine available, health ministry officials said. .
In addition, online training modules for vaccinators are being developed. The digital platform that is being improved is the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN), which provides real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperatures at all points in the country’s cold chain under UIP.
The National Committee of Experts on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 has already mapped the existing cold chain used under the government’s immunization program and has also projected the additional requirement, Ministry of Health officials said previously.
Currently, the committee is dedicated to mapping private sector facilities that could meet the needs of supplementing cold chain equipment.
The Union’s health minister, Harsh Vardhan, has said that the Center estimates receiving and using doses of 40 to 50 crore of Covid-19 vaccine covering around 25 crore of people by July next year.
The biggest challenge for India will be developing the cold chain logistics to distribute vaccines across India in a short period of time, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chairman of Biocon Ltd., at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum last week. pass.
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