COVID-19 vaccines are likely to be a reality soon. Several candidates in the global coronavirus vaccine race have come a little closer to regulatory approval in recent weeks. “The coronavirus vaccine will be available in the coming months and it is estimated that between 400 and 500 million doses will be available to between 25 and 30 million people in July-August,” the Union’s health minister said Thursday, Harsh Vardhan. Vardhan was addressing a webinar organized by FICCI FLO on ‘The Shifting Paradigm of Healthcare During and After Covid’,
Ensuring universal access to a “safe and effective” vaccine against the new coronavirus will be a challenge. The central government has begun to prepare a plan to implement the coronavirus vaccine in the country, once it is available.
“It is natural that the distribution of the vaccine should be prioritized. As you know, healthcare workers who are crown warriors will be prioritized, then people who are over 65 years of age, and then those over 50 at age 65, age has been prioritized, “Vardhan said.
“Then those under 50 who have other diseases. Everything is being decided by experts with a scientific point of view. We have made a very detailed and meticulous plan about this,” he said.
“What we would have to do in March-April next year, we start planning from now on,” added Vardhan.
The coronavirus vaccine will be distributed under a special COVID-19 inoculation program, using the processes, technology and the existing Universal Immunization Program (UIP) network, official sources had previously said. The central government has already started the process of identifying some 30 million priority beneficiaries.
Five vaccine candidates are in different stages of trials in India. Covaxin from Bharat Biotech and Covishield, developed by the University of Oxford, has already started the phase III clinical trial. Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D is in phase II clinical trial in the country. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories will soon begin phase II clinical trials of the Russian COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccine in India.
How COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed in India:
The existing digital platform of the Ministry of Health eVIN for the IPU will be used for the distribution and delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine. An SMS will be sent to the recipients mentioning the time, date and place to receive the injections. Each person on the immunization list would be linked with their Aadhaar cards to avoid duplication and track beneficiaries. However, in case a person does not have an aadhaar card, a government photo proof of identity can be used, the sources said.
.
