Health workers during the dry run of COVID-19 vaccination, at a health care centre in Kamakshipalya of Bengaluru.
As India gears up to launch the world's largest immunisation drive, almost all states and Union Territory (UT) governments, including the national capital, conducted a dry run on Saturday to assess their ability and readiness to administer Covid-19 shots to hundreds of millions of people, including many in remote corners of the country. The move came day after a government panel recommended for the emergency use approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Covishield and all eyes are on Director Controller General of India (DCGI) for the final nod.
Covid vaccine dry run conducted in India | What we know
- This is aimed at equipping the entire administration and management of vaccine supply, storage and logistics, including cold chain management.
- The activity is being conducted in all state capitals in at least three session sites. Some states include districts that are situated in difficult terrain or have poor logistical support.
- "The objective of the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine introduction is to assess operational feasibility in the use of Co-WIN application in field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guide way forward prior to actual implementation," health ministry has said.
- For each of the 3-session sites, the concerned medical officer In-charge will identify 25 test beneficiaries (healthcare workers). The States and UTs have been asked to ensure that the data of these beneficiaries is uploaded in Co-WIN.
- These beneficiaries will also be available at the session site for the dry run. The States and UTs have also been asked to prepare the facilities and users to be created on CoWIN application including uploading the data of Health Care Worker (HCW) beneficiaries.
- The States and UTs have been directed to ensure physical verification of all proposed sites for adequacy of space, logistical arrangements, Internet connectivity, electricity, safety.
- As the vaccine administrators will play an important role in the vaccination process, training of trainers and those who shall administer the vaccine has been taken up across various states. Around 96,000 vaccinators have been trained for this purpose.
- About 2,360 participants have been trained in National Training of Trainers and over 57,000 participants trained in District level training in 719 districts. States are augmenting the State helpline 104, which shall be used in addition to 1075, for any vaccine and software related query.
- On December 28 and 29, dry run for the Covid-19 vaccination was conducted in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, Rajkot and Gandhinagar district of Gujarat, Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar of Punjab and Sonitpur and Nalbari districts of Assam.
- The central government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 crore people in the first phase of drive. It will be offered to one crore healthcare workers, along with 2 crore frontline and essential workers and 27 crore elderly, mostly above the age of 50 years with comorbidities.
How to register for vaccination drive?
Ahead of the mass vaccination process which can begin any day in the coming days, the Centre launched a new mobile app called, 'Co-WIN App', through which the users will be able to self-register for the coronavirus vaccine. Those who will be pre-registered on the app will get the vaccine at the earliest as soon as any vaccination will be launched for use. READ MORE
Who will get vaccine first?
Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today said that in the first phase of mass vaccination drive, free vaccine will be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries that include one crore healthcare and two crore frontline workers.
Taking to Twitter, Harsh Vardhan said, "In 1st phase of COVID19Vaccination free #vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries that incl 1 crore healthcare & 2 crore frontline workers. Details of how further 27 crore priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalised."
Dry run underway in major states | Key points
Delhi
A dry run for COVID-19 vaccination began in the national capital on Saturday at three sites selected for the purpose. The Centre had on Thursday stated that the activity was set to be conducted by all state and union territory administrations on January 2 to test the linkages between planning and implementation, and identify challenges.
"Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Shahdara, Urban Primary Health Centre, Daryaganj, and Venkateshwar Hospital, Dwarka, are the three sites in Delhi where the dry run of the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine in the national capital," a senior official said here on Saturday.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope today kicked off the dry run exercise for the much-anticipated coronavirus vaccination programme likely to be launched in the country soon. The full-fledged dry runs shall be carried out at multiple locations in Jalna, Nandurbar, Nagpur and Pune after the health workers underwent intensive training for the purpose last month.
Kerala
The dry run for Covid immunization process is underway in Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Palakkad and Wayanad districts of Kerala as part of the nation-wide exercise. There are six centres altogether in these four districts -- Thiruvananthapuram has three and the other districts one each. In Thiruvananthapuram, the Primary Health Centre at Poozhanadu, district hospital at Peroorkada and KIMS hospital from the private sector are the three centres.
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Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
A dry run of Covid-19 vaccination was underway Saturday at 46 centres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as part of nationwide assessment of preparedness of health authorities to implement the programme when the vaccine is made available. The trial run was being conducted at 39 centres in Andhra Pradesh and seven centres in Telangana. Officials said the process was underway in a smooth manner.
Vaccination development status in India
India currently has eight Covid-19 vaccine candidates, including three indigenous vaccines, under different stages of clinical trials which could be ready for authorisation in near future. Serum Institute-Oxford's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and Pfizer vaccine are in the fray for emergency use authorisation.
