Coronavirus: The dry execution of the vaccine administration process would be done in 2 districts of 4 states (Archive)
New Delhi:
In an indication that a COVID-19 inoculation campaign in India could soon begin, the government has planned a dry test of the vaccination process in four states – Punjab, Gujarat, Assam and Andhra Pradesh – on 28 and 29 December.
Two districts in each of these states in the four zones of the country will verify their readiness in five types of medical settings: district hospitals, community and public health centers, urban and rural areas, and private facilities.
Importantly, the trial will focus on the management of any possible adverse post-vaccination event (AEFI), in addition to conducting drills, verifying the use of the Co-WIN vaccine registration application, preparing for storage and transportation and crowd management.
Additionally, compliance and management of infection control practices will also be carried out on site to prevent disease transmission.
“It will provide information on any gaps or bottlenecks so they can be addressed prior to the start of the COVID-19 campaign. The trial will take place in one or two districts under the overall leadership of the district collector / magistrate,” he added. Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said on Thursday.
As part of the vaccine implementation plan, 2,360 training sessions have been conducted so far and 7,000 staff members have been trained, including physicians, vaccinators, alternate vaccinators, cold chain managers, supervisors, data administrators and coordinators of ASHA.
India can start vaccinating “in any week” in January, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said recently, adding that regulator DCGI is looking at requests for approval of emergency use of Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute and Pfizer.
In light of the plans, Delhi and Hyderabad airports have started preparing to safely store and transport the temperature-sensitive vaccines. States have also compiled a list of healthcare and frontline workers who would be the first to take the hit.
After three million million healthcare and frontline workers, India expects to vaccinate another 27 million people in the high risk and vulnerability categories against COVID-19 over the next six to seven months, the minister said.
While many countries, including the US, China, the UK, Turkey, Israel and Russia, have begun vaccinating their populations, India has yet to approve a vaccine for emergency use.
India, the second country most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in terms of absolute numbers, has seen a steady decline in its new Covid infections amid an increase in cases in Europe and America.
The country has more than 1.1 million coronavirus cases of which only 3 percent are active. So far, at least 1.46 lakh people have lost their lives to COVID-19 since the first cases were detected in India in January this year.
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