New Delhi: Amid the increasing number of patients testing positive for the new strain of coronavirus in India, the Union Government is all set to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine across the nation on January 8, 2021.
Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry have been proactively carrying out the preparations for the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine, in collaboration with States/UTs and all stakeholders, over the past couple of months to ensure that the preparations for the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine are on track.
Two COVID-19 vaccines have been given emergency use authorization by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) recently.
As a simulation of actual execution, another round of dry run/mock drill in all 700+ districts of all States/UTs (except UP and Haryana who have already conducted/ will be conducting the dry run in all districts on 5th January and 7th January respectively) is planned on 8 January 2021 to ensure efficient planning and management for vaccine delivery in each district of all States/UTs.
Each district will identify three types of session sites, similar to the previous dry run including a public health facility (District Hospital/Medical College), private health facility, and rural or urban outreach sites.
In this regard, a meeting of Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan with the State/UT Health Ministers is scheduled on 7th January 2021 to guide States/UTs on the conduct of dry run.
The entire planning of the vaccination drive including beneficiary registration, microplanning, and vaccination at the planned session site, will be tested under the leadership of the District Collector/District Magistrate. The dry run will also familiarize the State, District, Block, and Hospital level officers on all aspects of the COVID-19 roll out.
This activity will help administrators in strengthening the linkages between planning, implementation, and reporting mechanisms, identification of any residual challenges before the actual implementation, and providing confidence to the program managers at all levels to carry out a smooth implementation of the vaccination drive.
The Health Ministry will be in constant touch with the States/UTs throughout the day to seek feedback and provide support and ensure timely resolution of the identified challenges before the actual vaccination roll-out.
To facilitate the entire vaccination process, a software, ‘Co-WIN’, has been developed by the Health Ministry for real-time information of vaccine stocks, their storage temperature, and individualized tracking of beneficiaries for the COVID-19 vaccine. This software will assist the program managers across all levels in the conduct of the vaccination sessions.
A dedicated 24×7 call center has also been established for technical queries of Co-WIN users. The cold chain infrastructure (like walk-in-freezers, walk-in-coolers, ice-lined refrigerators, deep freezers) along with sufficient supplies of syringes and other logistics have been ensured to begin the COVID-19 vaccination drive.
Around 1.7 lakh vaccinators and 3 lakh vaccination team members have been trained on the process to be followed at the vaccination sites which include beneficiary verification, vaccination, cold chain & logistics management, bio-medical waste management, AEFI management, and reporting on Co-WIN software. Detailed operational guidelines on all aspects of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, including session planning & management, session site layout & its organization, AEFI management, IEC messages, infection prevention & control practices, etc., have already been shared with the States/UTs and they have also been oriented on the same.