The exercise comes at a crucial stage as India is poised to launch the first vaccines to the public. An expert panel from the central pharmaceutical authority has approved two Covid-19 vaccines, Covishield from the Serum Institute and Covaxin from Bharat Biotech, for emergency use. Both are awaiting the final regulatory go-ahead. Two more candidate vaccines are in advanced stages of development.
Army of vaccinators
The government said Saturday’s trial was successfully carried out in 125 districts of the country.
“Each district conducted the trial at three or more sites that included a public health center (district hospital / medical school), private health center, and rural or urban outreach sites,” said a government-issued statement.
He said 1,14,100 vaccinators were trained during the trial, while to date more than 75 lakh beneficiaries have been registered in the Co-WIN software.
“This trial aimed to test the established mechanisms for the deployment of Covid-19 vaccination in the healthcare system and to evaluate the operational feasibility of using the Co-WIN application in the field environment for planning, implementation and presentation of reporting at the block, district and state levels, “the statement read.
He said an exercise was also conducted to familiarize officials at the state, district, block and hospital levels on all aspects of the vaccine launch.
“The states / UT conducted the drill from 9 a.m. throughout the country in a fluid manner. Activities were covered from the loading of beneficiary data, the assignment of the session site and the micro planning, the allocation of vaccines, the management of the session site with the test beneficiaries, the notification mechanism, etc. in this one-day test to run the closest possible simulation of the actual day, “said the government.
He added that readiness to handle any post-vaccination adverse event (AEFI) was also tested at all session sites and call center functionality.
The government said that all states and UT have expressed their complete satisfaction with the successful completion of the trial.
The test ended with review meetings at the district and state levels to discuss the problems and challenges encountered during the exercise.
‘Free vaccines for all’
Earlier today, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan called on people not to be misled by “rumors” about the safety and efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine, saying the highest priority beneficiaries would be vaccinated for free.
Vardhan stressed that no protocol will be compromised when approving the vaccine.
The minister, who visited two vaccination drills in Delhi to review the drill, said that free vaccinations would be provided in the first phase of the inoculation campaign to the most prioritized beneficiaries, including one crore from health care and two crore from first-class workers. line.
He added that details were being finalized on how priority beneficiaries of Rs 27 million (those over 50 years old and those with comorbidities) would be vaccinated until July.
Vardhan said that the entire exercise of the vaccination process, including staff training, was being carried out systematically.
“Detailed multi-stakeholder guidelines have been issued after extensive deliberations, paying attention to each and every aspect,” he said.
Vardhan appreciated the tireless efforts made by multiple stakeholders, including central and state government officials who have worked proactively in recent months to ensure the success of this massive operation.
He said the digital platform, Co-WIN, was the real game changer and would provide real-time information on vaccine stocks, their storage temperature, and individualized monitoring of Covid-19 vaccine recipients.
This unique platform will assist in the automatic allocation of sessions for pre-enrolled beneficiaries, their verification and to generate a digital certificate once the vaccination schedule is successfully completed, he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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