As India gears up to launch world’s largest vaccination drive, select hospitals across the country conducted an inoculation dry run on Saturday. The nationwide rehearsal was to understand the best way to administer the vaccine and plug loopholes in logistics and training, if any.
A key aspect of the massive exercise which came the day a Government-appointed panel of experts gave nod to two vaccine candidates for emergency use in the country, was to decide how to manage any possible adverse events following immunisation.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, who reviewed the process at GTB Hospital in Delhi, said the Government would not compromise on any protocol in approving a vaccine. He also appealed to people not to be misguided by rumours regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
As per the Centre’s directive, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana along with Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat were among many States and UTs which conducted a dry run for Covid-19 vaccination. The dry run was aimed at testing the laid out mechanism for the vaccination roll-out.
As per the guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry, all States selected their particular areas and districts to hold the dry run exercise at various Government medical college, hospitals, medical centres and the community health centres.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Health Organization (WHO) supported the drive.
The States and Union Territories have been asked to ensure that the data of beneficiaries is uploaded on Co-WIN, an online platform for monitoring the delivery of the vaccine.
Similar exercise for the distribution and administration of Covid-19 vaccine was conducted in various States and UTs separately on different occasions in December.
“The purpose was to check the various steps of the vaccination process, including the efficiency of the CoWIN app, internet accessibility, and the management of any possible adverse events,” said the official from the Ministry.
The Central Government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 crore people in the first phase of the immunisation drive. The vaccine will be administered to one crore healthcare workers, along with 2 crore frontline and essential workers, and 27 crore elderly, mostly above the age of 50 with co-morbidities.
Sunday, 03 January 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
