Updated: December 8, 2020 7:53:42 am
States are also uploading data on 2.39 lakhs of vaccinators, many of whom are assistant nurse midwives (ANM), on the digital platform, the sources said.
- The vaccine will be administered to 100 people during each session at a vaccination center.
- The vaccinator will take at least 30 minutes to complete the vaccination process for each recipient, to ensure follow-up of a possible adverse event.
- Both government and private health centers will be connected to conduct the first round of immunizations for frontline health workers.
As the vaccines that are expected to finally defeat the novel coronavirus that has sickened 67 million people and killed more than 1.5 million worldwide seem increasingly close, the high-level think tank working in the logistics to administer it to the Indians has made some key decisions. .
After Serum Institute of India applied for emergency use authorization for Covishield, a version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate vaccine that it is manufacturing under license, Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad It approached the regulator on Monday seeking similar approval for Covaxin, the country’s indigenous Covid-19 vaccine.
“Bharat Biotech has requested emergency restricted use. The committee of experts in the field will examine the three candidate vaccines (Pfizer, Serum and Bharat Biotech), on the basis of which the Comptroller General of Drugs of India (DCGI) will make a final decision, ”said a government source.
The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer was the first to seek an emergency use clearance on Saturday for your candidate mRNA. Over the course of the next year and beyond, India will carry out the largest vaccination campaign in its history.
The national committee of experts on the administration of the Covid-19 vaccine produced its final plan on logistics after “97 percent of government facilities and 70 percent of private facilities” submitted data on workers from first-line medical care, the first priority group vaccinated.
The Indian Express had previously reported that, based on data submitted by the states to the expert committee, 1 crore of frontline healthcare Workers are likely to receive the first dose of the vaccine early next year.
Top government sources told The Indian Express that the vaccine administration guidelines are based on the crucial question of the likelihood of an adverse event being reported after each dose. “Therefore, in the guidelines, we have concluded that there will be three separate rooms in each vaccination center,” said a source.
“In the first room, the beneficiary will have to wait; the second room is where the administration of the vaccine will take place; and finally, they will be directed to the observation room, where they will have to sit for 30 minutes because some of the adverse reactions occur during this period, “added the source.
Sources said that since each vaccine will take at least 30 minutes, only 100 injections will be given in each session. “The CoWin computer system allows creating vaccination sessions and setting vaccination sites. Once this is done, each vaccination session will be 100 vaccines. After 30 minutes, the vaccinators will report the adverse event, if any, on the digital platform, ”said the sources.
Data on frontline healthcare workers collected by states is currently in the process of being uploaded to the CoWin platform for verification and certification, the sources said. “States have compiled data on health workers in Excel sheets. This data is now loading … There are different levels; one where data is uploaded, verified and certified at the state level; once certified, the data is available with the Center, and any subsequent changes will require the state to seek a specific permit, ”the sources said.
States are also uploading data on 2.39 lakhs of vaccinators, many of whom are assistant nurse midwives (ANM), on the digital platform, the sources said.
Having decided that vaccine recipients will be monitored for at least 30 minutes, the expert group has asked states to expand the surveillance reporting network for AEFI (post-immunization adverse events).
District immunization officers have been asked to prepare lists of public and private hospitals and to “contact” the institution director to identify a nodal officer for AEFI reporting. This nodal officer is expected to conduct an hour-long awareness meeting with physicians and train them to record OPD vaccination histories, wounded admissions and hospitalized patients. Medical officers will record “minor, serious and serious” adverse events in an “AEFI log”, which will be reviewed by the nodal officer weekly.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
.
