Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested on Saturday developing a vaccine administration system that is in line with how elections are conducted in the country and disaster management work is carried out, even as he discussed ensuring rapid access. to vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) for every Indian Citizen.
The Prime Minister chaired a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation and the arrangements for the delivery, distribution and administration of vaccines. During the meeting, the prime minister noted that the growth of Covid-19 cases in the country showed signs of slowing down, but cautioned against any complacency before the deadly pandemic was brought under control.
“Three vaccines are in advanced stages of development in India, of which 2 are in Phase II and one in Phase III,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. “The Prime Minister further ordered that, taking into account the geographic spread and diversity of the country, access to the vaccine should be quickly guaranteed. The Prime Minister emphasized that every step in logistics, delivery and administration must be rigorously implemented, ”the statement added. It should include advance planning of cold storage chains, distribution network, monitoring mechanism, advance assessment and preparation of required ancillary equipment such as vials, syringes, etc., the PMO said, citing Modi.
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Senior officials, including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, PM PK Mishra Senior Secretary, NITI Aayog member VK Paul, and Senior Scientific Advisor Vijaya Raghavan, were present at the meeting to chart the future path for manage the pandemic. There has been a clear decrease in daily cases, growth rate and number of deaths in the last three weeks, according to the PMO statement.
The Prime Minister suggested that the vaccine administration system be developed in line with the conduct of elections in India. In the world’s most populous democracy, elections, especially those in Lok Sabha, are a massive affair, with security forces, teachers, administrative officials and others involved along with the active participation of political parties, organizations and millions of citizens.
“The Prime Minister said that similarly, vaccine delivery and administration systems should be established. This should involve the participation of state / UT / district officials, civil society organizations, volunteers, citizens, and experts from all necessary domains. The whole process must have a strong IT backbone … ”, reads the statement. Experts said that by pointing to the electoral model, the prime minister gave an indication of the scale on which the government plans to bring the vaccination campaign to the people.
At the meeting, it was also discussed that Indian scientists and research teams were collaborating and strengthening research capacities in neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal and Sri Lanka. There are more applications from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Qatar and Bhutan for clinical trials in their countries, the statement said.
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Modi ordered senior officials that India should not limit its efforts to its immediate neighborhood, but should reach out to the entire world to provide vaccines, drugs, and information technology platforms for vaccine delivery systems.
The National Covid-19 Vaccine Administration Expert Group (NEGVAC), in consultation with state governments and all stakeholders, has prepared a detailed vaccine storage, distribution and administration plan, which was presented at the meeting. The expert group is actively working on the prioritization and distribution of vaccines in consultation with the states.
“The prime minister further ordered that, taking into account the geographic spread and diversity of the country, access to the vaccine should be quickly guaranteed,” the PMO said.
The Prime Minister said that vaccine delivery and administration systems should similarly be established. This should involve the participation of states, union territories, district-level officials, civil society organizations, volunteers, citizens, and experts from all necessary domains.
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As work continues to develop an effective vaccine for Covid-19, the government said that two nationwide studies of the virus genome in India suggest it is genetically stable and has not shown any major mutation. There have been concerns that any major mutation detected in the coronavirus could hamper the development of an effective vaccine. However, some recent global studies have said that the vaccines currently being developed for Covid-19 should not be affected by recent mutations.
When asked about the Prime Minister’s call to learn from the experience of elections and disaster management, political scientist Neelanjan Sircar said there are many areas where understanding can be increased. “Without a doubt, there is a great margin of learning. Elections are a bit different because technically, electoral management is carried out by a particular body, the Electoral Commission, which has a particular set of resources available, ”he said.
Sircar said that one of the aspects that came to the fore was the coordination of disaster management, which is a state issue. Sircar said that many problems or issues may require coordination that may not exist immediately. It’s definitely also an opportunity for us to learn, he added.
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