India’s vaccine drive to kick off on Jan 16

PM Modi terms it a landmark step as he chairs key meeting on states’ preparedness

NEW DELHI: India’s vaccination drive, the world’s largest immunisation exercise against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), will kick off on January 16 with priority to about 30 million health care and frontline workers, the government said on Saturday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “a landmark step” in the fight against the pandemic.

The Prime Minister chaired a high-level meet to review the status of the infectious disease along with the preparedness of states for the vaccination drive. “The roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine will provide priority to the health care workers and the frontline workers who are estimated to be around 3 cr (30 million), followed by those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 cr (270 million),” a statement released by the Union health ministry said.

India plans to inoculate 300 million of its 1.3 billion people free of charge in the first six to eight months of this year. The Drug Controller General of India has approved two coronavirus vaccines for emergency use – Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield, which is manufactured locally by the Serum Institute of India, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, which has been cleared for restricted use in emergency situations in “clinical trial mode”, leading to experts questioning the decision because of the shorter duration of human trials and relatively lower data published for the

candidate. Both vaccines, the statement from the health ministry said, have established safety and immunogenicity.

On Saturday, Modi was briefed about the preparedness of the Centre in collaboration with states for the roll-out of the vaccine. “On 16th January, India takes a landmark step forward in fighting COVID-19. Starting that day, India’s nation-wide vaccination drive begins. Priority will be given to our brave doctors, healthcare workers, frontline workers including Safai Karamcharis,” he tweeted after the meeting.

The PM is scheduled to interact with chief ministers of all states on Monday via video conferencing, where they will discuss the Covid-19 situation and the vaccination roll-out.

Three phases of dry runs have been conducted across the country ahead of the vaccination drive. The third round was conducted on Friday across 615 districts in 33 states and Union territories. More than 61,000 programme managers, 200,000 vaccinators and 370,000 other vaccination team members have been trained so far at state, district and block levels, according to the health ministry.

“After the detailed review, it was decided that in view of the forthcoming festivals including Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu etc., the Covid-19 vaccination will start from 16th January 2021,” the official statement said.

“The vaccination exercise is underpinned by the principles of people’s participation (Jan Bhagidari); utilising experience of elections (booth strategy) and Universal Immunization Program (UIP); no compromise of existing healthcare services, especially national programs and primary health care; no compromise on scientific and regulatory norms, other SOPs; and an orderly and smooth implementation driven by technology,” it added.

India is ready with two “Made in India” vaccines to protect humanity from Covid-19 even as the world is watching the roll-out of the world’s largest vaccination programme in the country, Modi said.

Addressing the virtual inaugural session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, Modi said India continues to play its role as the “world’s pharmacy” by getting essential medicines to those most in need around the world.

“Today, India is ready to protect humanity with not one but two ‘Made in India’ corona vaccines,” he said, speaking in Hindi. “Today, the world is not only waiting for India’s vaccine, but it is also eyeing how India runs the world’s largest vaccination programme.”

The PM was also apprised about the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system on Saturday. The digital platform will provide real-time information of vaccine stocks, their storage temperature and individualised tracking of beneficiaries of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the government.

The platform will assist programme managers across all levels through automated session allocation for pre-registered beneficiaries, their verification and for generating a digital certificate upon successful completion of the vaccine schedule.

More than 7.9 million beneficiaries have been already registered on the platform, the health ministry said.