The world’s largest vaccination campaign against the new coronavirus will begin on Saturday when India begins vaccinating three million million of its front-line workers. In the first phase, two indigenous vaccines, Covaxin and Covishield, will be administered to the priority groups. More than one crore and 5.27 lakh people have been infected by the virus in India so far, and about 1.52 lakh have died.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the inoculation campaign at 10.30am on Saturday and will target 3,006 vaccination sites across the country via video conferencing.
Who will get the Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday?
Priority groups include health workers, safai karmacharis, the military, and disaster management volunteers.
The government has said that around 100 people will receive vaccinations at each of the 3,006 vaccination sites in the country on Saturday. The first phase of vaccination is likely to be completed in a few months.
How will the vaccination campaign be carried out?
Since India has a population of 130 million million people, the country draws on its experiences of holding elections to carry out the vaccination campaign. The Interior Ministry has even asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to share the most recent data from the Lok Sabha electoral roll and the elections to the Legislative Assembly in order to identify people belonging to priority groups.
At a vaccination center in Darya Ganj, Delhi. (Praveen Khanna)
The exercise will be carried out for those over 18 years of age. Each site, which will function as a voting booth does, will have three printed copies of the beneficiary list. Officials will also upload these names to the government’s Co-Win portal; Saturday’s list was loaded two days in advance.
An official said: “The vaccination session is from 9 am to 5 pm. Whoever comes until 5 in the afternoon will be vaccinated even after 5 in the afternoon, as happens in elections ”.
The Prime Minister has said that India will also use its experience from the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) and the participation of the people (Jan Bhagidari) in the exercise.
Is the vaccine free?
The vaccines administered in the first phase will be free. “The Center will meet the cost of vaccination for the priority population of 3 million rupees,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said earlier this week.
What are the two Covid-19 vaccines that are given to Indians?
Two vaccines – Covaxin and Covishield – have received approval from India’s drug regulator CDSCO. They have received what is known as a “restricted use approval in an emergency situation”, which means that they can be used even though companies have not completed clinical trials.
Covishield is the Indian variant of AZD1222, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. It was developed and manufactured in the country by the Serum Institute of India (SII) based in Pune. Covaxin has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology.
At a Covid-19 vaccination center in Mumbai. (Express photo: Ganesh Shirsekar)
Currently, there are 1.1 crore doses from the Serum Institute and 55 lakh doses of the Bharat Biotech vaccine available for administration. Each person is given two injections of both vaccines, 28 days apart.
Apart from these two, four more indigenous vaccines are being prepared.
How have vaccines been distributed in India?
The Center has decided on the distribution strategy among states based on geographic prioritization or in areas where “the prevalence of infection is high.” This means that states like Maharashtra and Kerala, which are reporting the highest daily cases, will likely receive more vaccines compared to other states.
The states, in turn, will decide how to distribute the injection at the district level. Distribution at the district level should be proportional to ensure that each beneficiary can be given two doses of the same vaccine.
What happens after getting vaccinated?
As people get vaccinated, their data will be uploaded in real time to the Co-Win platform. The government plans to use Aadhaar to help identify and monitor beneficiaries.
Preparations are underway at Kamala Nehru Hospital for the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. (Express photo: Arul Horizon)
Once vaccinated, the beneficiary will receive a digital certificate. This will help remind you when to take the second dose. It will help the government to know who has received the dose. After the second dose, a final digital certificate will be generated.
Data from the Co-Win platform will also help curb rumors and misinformation about the vaccine and ensure effective reporting of adverse events, if any, after vaccination.
Is India Ready to Run Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign?
India has conducted three drills in preparation for the launch of the vaccine. The nationwide exercise was conducted to understand the best way to administer the vaccine and fill gaps in logistics and training.
The government has also created a dedicated 24/7 helpline number 1075 for inquiries related to the launch of the vaccine and the Co-WIN software.
.
