The drill was conducted to test the vaccine storage and transportation arrangements, as well as the management of any adverse events after vaccination.
A total of 125 fictitious beneficiaries in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district received a fictitious COVID-19 vaccine on Monday while a vaccination test was being conducted in the state. In addition to Andhra Pradesh, the two-day trial is also taking place in Punjab, Assam, and Gujarat, as a preparatory step before the actual launch of the vaccine. The drill is designed to test cold storage and vaccine transport arrangements, manage crowds at session sites with appropriate spacing, enter data into the COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) app (the digital platform used to monitor the launch of the vaccine) for previously identified beneficiaries) and the management of any adverse events after vaccination (AEFI).
Preparation for the test
Krishna’s district was chosen in Andhra Pradesh for the trial. Five session sites were established in different settings (district hospitals, urban and rural areas, government and private facilities): Vijayawada Government General Hospital, Uppuluru PHC Primary Health Center in Kankipadu mandal, Purna Heart Institute in Vijayawada, Penamaluru PHC, and Prakash Nagar Urban PHC.
The logistics were also tested, with the dummy vaccine transported from Machilipatnam to the cold chain point in Vijayawada on Sunday before being used on Monday. The cold chain point is part of the cold chain system, a supply chain where the temperature of the vaccine is controlled throughout the production, storage and distribution stages, to ensure that the quality of the vaccine not affected.
Vaccination officers and other administrators and health workers involved in the program were trained in the use of the CoWIN app, the registration of vaccine samples and the people who received the dose, and other aspects of the deployment.
What the rehearsal looked like
At each of the five session sites, 25 beneficiaries appeared to receive the dummy vaccine within a two-hour time interval. At each site, three rooms were installed: for registration, vaccination and observation.
Five vaccination officers were present, whose job included matching the recipient’s name from the official list, verifying their name on the CoWIN app, administering the dummy vaccine, and reporting the vaccination on the CoWIN app. Vaccination officials were seen telling bogus recipients that the first dose alone is not sufficient for immunity and that they would have to return after 28 days for the second dose.
After receiving the dummy vaccine, the dummy beneficiaries were made to wait in the observation room for 30 minutes.
A separate room with ten beds was also kept for medical services in case of any adverse events. Medical experts, including cardiologists, neurologists, and general practitioners, were available on standby to treat any post-immunization adverse event (AEFI). An AEFI committee has been formed according to the guidelines.
The activity at the five dry run centers was videotaped and an activity report will be sent to the State Working Group. The state will provide feedback to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on any gaps in operations, which will need to be addressed before the actual vaccination campaign occurs.
.
