According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, several ministries and departments are converging at the national level to support vaccination under the direction of the National Group of Experts on Administration of Vaccines for Covid-19 (NEGVAC).
Arguing that the highest level of political and administrative ownership, commitment and support is vital for the successful planning and implementation of Covid-19 vaccination, the ministry said in the SOP for vaccination that coordination mechanisms at the national, state, district levels and block have been that “individual ministries have been communicated on the support required in the launch of the vaccine.”
Site identification
At least four departments (urban development, revenue, people with disabilities, public health engineering) have been instructed to assist in the identification of the vaccination site, in addition to other responsibilities. Although India has a network of over 82 lakh of sites, vaccination against Covid has special requirements given the need for social distancing, as previously reported by TOI.
“With this in mind, several departments have been linked to identify additional sites where needed. Whenever possible, sites that are part of the universal immunization program (UIP) will be used for inoculation, ”said an official.
Cold storage
Furthermore, despite the fact that there are more than 28,900 cold chain points and more than 85,000 pieces of equipment as part of the UIP, the ministry has been reiterating the need to increase this network. In this sense, the departments of livestock and food and civil supplies have been cordoned off.
Logistics and site administration
According to the SOP, PwD, rural and urban development, public health engineering departments, among others, will analyze the logistics, including the provision of drinking water at the vaccination sites, the preparation of the sites, etc.
The rural development department, for example, has been told to use self-help groups (SHGs) to help with logistics management, including vaccine site preparation, cleanup, etc., while block development officers and village officials will assist in the delivery and monitoring of the vaccine.
Police, armed forces, women’s and child development, AYUSH and other departments will also assist in site management with functions such as crowd management, manpower provision, including vaccinators, etc.
IT, energy and other support
Additionally, while the department of energy is mandated to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to vaccine sites and storage spaces, the department of food and civil supplies has been asked to “facilitate biometric authentication or readers of fingerprints at session sites “.
The IT department, through the base-level Common Service Centers (CSC), will guarantee the registration of the beneficiaries, the follow-up, the printing of the beneficiary’s certification and other services where connectivity and based methods are required. in the web.
The education department has been told to support the management of vaccination session locations, including working as team members (when needed).
Communication and awareness
Almost every department has a mandate to raise awareness about the vaccine while helping to counter misinformation. While the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will take the lead in this role, some other departments have also been assigned specific roles.
For example, the education department should target parents, while the rural development department has been told to involve SHGs for social mobilization, awareness raising, home visits, etc. “The SHGs perform local theater plays, nukkad nataks, are part of the commitments of community radio, hold group meetings,” reads the SOP.
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