Covid-19: How states are preparing for vaccination drive

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has recently announced in the Assembly that the state is getting ready to vaccinate one crore people in three months.

Primary groundwork for vaccine storage, distribution has been laid by all state governments as Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a recent all-party meeting has said that India is prepared to start vaccination. As soon as scientists give the nod, vaccination will start, the PM has said. The states are likely to follow an identical model in which healthcare workers will be vaccinated first. Front line workers will be vaccinated next. All people above 50 will be vaccinated in the third lot while people below 50 but with co-morbidities will get the vaccine in the fourth slot.

People wait during the administration of Covaxin, an Indian government-backed experimental Covid-19 vaccine, during its human trials, at the Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society in Ahmedabad.(PTI)

India biggest buyer of Covid-19 vaccine

India has purchased 500 million doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, one billion from the US company Novavax and 100 million doses of the Sputnik V candidate from Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, according to the US-based Duke University Global Health Innovation Center, as on November 30.

How states are gearing up

Some state government have revealed data regarding their cold-storage, vaccine centres etc.

Gujarat: The Gujarat government has said it has already put together the cold chain infrastructure for the storage and transport of vaccines. It has also readied teams of vaccinators. There will be 27,796 vaccination centres and 15,534 teams for vaccinating.

It has already prepared a list of priority citizens. It has identified four groups to get vaccines first: Healthcare workers, corona warriors apart from health care workers, people above 50, people below 50 with co-morbidities.

Andhra Pradesh: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has recently announced in the Assembly that the state is getting ready to vaccinate one crore people in three months. Vaccines will be stored at 4,065 cold chain facilities in the state while 29 refrigerated vehicles will transport vaccines. Asha workers will be trained to inject vaccines to people.

Delhi: The Delhi government has started enrolment of healthcare workers for Covid-19 vaccination and instructed all the healthcare facilities -- institutions, nursing homes, OPDs and clinics -- to send names of their healthcare workers for the enrolment process by December 5. Delhi’s Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital has become the first vaccine storage facility.

The procurement is being done centrally. State government were asked not to approach vaccine makers individually. The vaccination will be done through e-VIN (Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network).