Key points:
- The government said that a total of 100 people is expected to get the anti-Covid-19 shots at each site per day.
- In a draft SOP issued by health ministry to all states and union territories it stated that 100 people should be vaccinated per day at a site and if sufficient resources are available then up to 200 people can be vaccinated.
As India gears up for vaccination drive, the government said that a total of 100 people is expected to get the anti-Covid-19 shots at each site per day.
In a draft SOP issued by health ministry to all states and union territories, it stated that 100 people should be vaccinated per day at a site and if sufficient resources are available then up to 200 people can be vaccinated.
“If in any case, more than 200 people are being vaccinated within a session then a whole team of 5 people will have to be deployed separately (one vaccine officer and four vaccination officers),” it said.
A vaccination site should have three rooms or areas including waiting room, vaccination room and observation room, the SOP stated.
According to the health ministry’s plan, the coronavirus vaccine will be first given to health care workers (1 crore), frontline workers (2 crore) and people above 50 years (26 crore). After this, vaccines will be given to those below 50 years of age who are suffering from a chronic critical illness (1 crore) (for a total of 30 crore people in phase-1 planning). Based on the voter list prepared in the Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections, people above 50 years of age will be identified.
After this, the rest of the population will be given Covid-19 vaccine, whenever it is ready for public use, based on the spread and availability of this disease.
“The beneficiaries will be tracked through a digital platform called Co-WIN. All information on this platform will be updated in real time,” the draft SOP stated.
Earlier, VK Paul, who heads the group of experts on vaccine administration for Covid-19 that advises India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India will deploy its vast election machinery to deliver 600 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to the most vulnerable people in the next 6-8 months through conventional cold chain systems.
The government has lined up cold storage facilities with temperatures between 2-8 degrees Celsius (36 to 48°F), VK Paul said, news agency Reuters reported.
Paul said these preparations meet the requirements of what he said were the four emerging candidates in the race for India’s vaccine.
“The four that I can see, including Serum, Bharat, Zydus, and Sputnik need normal cold chain. I see no problem for these vaccines,” VK Paul said.
Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, is already mass producing and stockpiling AstraZeneca’s Covishield shot, while Indian biotech players Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila are developing their own vaccine candidates.
And last month, Indian pharmaceutical player Hetero inked a deal with Russia’s RDIF to manufacture over 100 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine per year in India.
(With inputs from Reuters)
