Leading healthcare provider Apollo Hospitals Group on Thursday said it is prepared to administer 1 million COVID-19 vaccines daily to augment and support the government efforts to fight the pandemic. Apollo Hospitals Group Executive Vice-Chairperson Shobana Kamineni said the group will work with the government in tandem to make sure that the largest number of people get the vaccine safe and fast, in a virtual media conference.
Shobana Kamineni said the group has the capability and has trained 10,000 professionals which will be stationed in all the group's pharmacies, clinics, in hospitals across the country. "Apollo Hospitals have been strengthening its vaccine cold chain for supply and gearing up all Apollo facilities for efficient and fast administration with the highest safety standards, for 1 million doses per day," she was quoted as saying by PTI.
The group has also built up the largest cold chain network and distribution system to be able to safely transport and store this vaccine in the temperatures that are required, Kamineni said.
The group's cold chain can deliver this vaccine in every part of the country within either 30 minutes or maximum two days, she added.
"As the entire country awaits a vaccine for the deadly infectious disease, one of the major challenges will be around safe and orderly delivery of doses, for the population of 1.3 billion Indians, especially the vulnerable," Kamineni said.
India is expected to have a COVID-19 vaccine from more than one source by early next year and the government is formulating distribution strategies for the immunisation of people across the country, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said.
Going forward, it will be the Apollo Hospitals Group's privilege to work with all governments, governmental agencies and healthcare networks to ensure that a large number of people get the vaccine, quickly and safely as it becomes available, Kamineni added.
The group will leverage its pan India web of 19 medicine supply hubs with cold chain facilities and use it's 70 hospitals, over 400 clinics, 500 corporate health centers, 4,000 pharmacies alongside omni-channel digital platform Apollo 24|7 to ensure massive administration capacity of COVID-19 vaccines, Apollo Hospitals Group said in a statement.
(With PTI inputs)