NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan called on people on Saturday not to be misled by “rumors” and misinformation campaigns about the safety and efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine, stressing that no protocol will be compromised while it is approved.
Vardhan, who visited two mock vaccination sites in Delhi to review the drill, said free vaccine it would be provided in the first phase of the inoculation campaign to the highest priority beneficiaries, including one crore from health care and two crore from frontline workers.
He added that the details of how priority recipients of 27 million rupees – those over 50 and those who have comorbidities – would be vaccinated until July.
The minister dispelled doubts about the country’s ability to undertake such a massive vaccination campaign, describing how India had unrivaled experience in treating immunization and running one of the largest such programs in the world.
“It is as a result of our steadfastness and dedication that India was declared polio-free in 2014. Our rich learning from past immunization campaigns, including the polio vaccination campaign, is being used to guide our current Covid vaccination campaign. -19 across the country, “he said.
The Union minister first visited GTB Hospital in Shahdara and then an Urban Primary Health Center (UPHC) in Daryaganj, according to a Ministry of Health statement.
“I appeal to people not to be fooled by rumors about the safety and efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine,” he said, dismissing rumors on social media about its side effects. “We will not compromise any protocol before approving a vaccine.”
The Health Minister stressed that doubts about vaccines were a problem even when the country began the immunization campaign against poliomyelitis, but “we must remember its success.”
He urged the media to exercise caution, behave “responsibly” and verify all the facts before publishing or releasing any report, the ministry said.
At the UPHC in Daryaganj, Vardhan reiterated that the Modi government was committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all citizens.
“I have extensive personal experience from the 1994 polio eradication campaign about how the people of the country put their trust in vaccine science rather than the falsehoods and hoaxes that some rumors spread,” Vardhan told the media.
In making sure the vaccine reaches the most remote corner, Vardhan said the country’s cold chain infrastructure had been improved enough to ensure last-mile delivery, and adequate supplies of syringes and other logistics had also been provided. .
Expressing his satisfaction with the preparations at GTB Hospital, Vardhan said that the entire exercise of the vaccination process, including the training of personnel, was being systematically advanced.
“Detailed multi-stakeholder guidelines have been issued after extensive deliberations, paying attention to each and every aspect,” he said.
“Before the actual vaccination campaign, the Ministry of Health on Saturday it conducted a national drill at 285 session sites to test the planned end-to-end operations and the mechanism that has been put in place to ensure the smooth conduct of the Covid-19 vaccination that is expected to start soon, “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 assignment of sessions for pre-enrolled beneficiaries, their verification and to generate a digital certificate upon successful completion of the vaccination schedule. More than 75 lakh beneficiaries have registered on the Co-WIN platform to date, he said.
The minister said that the entire IT and operational planning platform had been field tested in four states (Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Punjab) and that certain improvements had been made to the system based on feedback received.
The rehearsal will end with review meetings at the district and state levels to discuss the issues and challenges encountered during the exercise. The states and territories of the Union have been asked to share the feedback with the Ministry of Health, which will be analyzed to solve any technical problem in the final execution and improvement of operating procedures.
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