Ministry of Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in fridges, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-cold fridges, 41,000 freezers and 300 solar fridges are used for Covid-19 vaccine storage. “All of the necessary vaccines have been shipped to the states,” he added.
However, 36 states and union territories have completed meetings of state steering committees and state task force. 633 districts have completed District Task Force meetings.
In addition, training modules for doctors, vaccination officers, alternative vaccination officers, cold chain leaders, supervisors, data managers, ASHA coordinators, etc. will be completed. Physical training as well as training on virtual / online platforms have started. National and State Instructor Training (ToT) workshops completed.
Speaking at a press conference, Bhushan added, “Post-vaccination adverse events are a critical issue. If we run a universal vaccination program that has been in place for decades, children and pregnant women will experience some adverse effects after vaccination.”
In addition, Bhushan added, “We cannot deny the likelihood of an adverse event when COVID-19 vaccination starts. In the countries where vaccination has already started, particularly the UK, adverse events occurred on the first day of It it is important that states and UTs also prepare for it. “
The development comes just days after the center unveiled its mega-vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in the coming months, claiming that “everyone will get the vaccine”.
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister of State Ashwini Kumar Choubey said Sunday that initially only 100 people will receive the vaccine, but eventually everyone will receive the vaccine.
“We will begin shipping the necessary equipment for storing and handling the coronavirus vaccine to states. Currently, only 100 people are receiving the vaccine per day at one booth. Eventually everyone will receive the vaccine,” he said.
Vaccinating 100 to 200 people at each session per day, 30 minutes of monitoring for adverse events after the shots are administered, and allowing only one beneficiary at a time are among the guidelines issued by the Center for the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign .
According to guidelines recently issued to states, the Co-WIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) system – a digitized platform – is used to track the beneficiaries claimed for the vaccines and anti-coronavirus vaccines in real time.
At the vaccination site, only pre-registered beneficiaries are vaccinated according to the prioritization, and no on-site registrations are planned.
As far as possible, states have been asked to assign the vaccine from a manufacturer to a district to avoid mixing different COVID-19 vaccines on site.
According to the “COVID-19 Vaccine Operating Guidelines”, all measures should be taken to avoid exposing the vaccine carrier, vaccine bottles or ice packs to direct sunlight, the document says.
Vaccines and diluents should be kept in the vaccine tray with the lid closed until a beneficiary comes to the center for vaccination.
“The COVID-19 vaccine label may not have vaccine vial monitors (VVM) and expiration dates. This should not prevent vaccines from using the vaccine. At the end of the session, the vaccine carrier must open all ice packs and unopened vaccine bottles should be on be sent back to the distributing cold chain point “, it says in the guidelines.
States were asked to implement a 360-degree integrated strategy for full communication and social stakeholder mobilization to address the challenges related to the advances and benefits of vaccine adoption.
The center has stated that the country is on the cusp of administering COVID-19 vaccines, although certain challenges need to be addressed in a timely manner.
“These may include the challenge of ensuring that more than 1.3 billion people in India receive factual and timely information and updates on vaccine adoption advances and benefits, public concerns and questions regarding the government’s decision to prioritize Vaccine administration as well as concerns about vaccines introduced after a brief trial, safety concerns and fear of adverse events, misunderstandings about the effectiveness of the vaccine, rumors and negative reports in the media / social media, and neglect in public adherence to COVID-appropriate behavior “says the document.
The vaccination team will consist of five members.
Each session should be scheduled for 100 beneficiaries per day. If there is sufficient logistics and space for the waiting room and observation room as well as arrangements for crowd management on the meeting site, another vaccination officer can be added to create a meeting for 200 beneficiaries.
The COVID-19 vaccine will be offered initially to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those over 50, followed by those under 50 with associated comorbidities due to the developing pandemic situation, and finally to the remaining population on disease epidemiology and vaccine availability.
The priority group of over 50 years of age can be further subdivided into those over 60 years of age and those between 50 and 60 years of age in order to carry out the rollout gradually based on the pandemic situation and the availability of vaccines.
“The latest electoral roll for Lok Sabha and the legislative assembly elections will be used to identify the population aged 50 and over,” the guidelines say.
In the first phase of vaccination, it is planned to vaccinate nearly 30 crore populations.
Twelve photo IDs are required for self-registration on the Co-WIN website, including voter ID, Aadhar card, driver’s license, passport and pension document.
With contributions from agencies