A two-day dry run for the coronavirus vaccine rollout is being conducted across four states – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Punjab – from Monday, 28 December.
Each state has selected certain districts where the dry run will be carried out.
Five sites have been identified in each district. The dry run will assess ‘operational feasibility of using Co-Win application’ and identify challenges before the vaccine rollouts, news agency ANI reported. Co-WIN is a mobile application which will virtually monitor the vaccination process.
Plans in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh
In Punjab, for instance, the dry run will be conducted in Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts. In Ludhiana, preparations are underway at the Dayanand Medical College for the programme.
Earlier, giving details of the exercise, Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu had said, “All activities starting from beneficiary data upload, session site allocation (micro-planning), session site management (with test beneficiaries), to reporting and evening debriefing are to be covered in this two-day dry run to execute the nearest possible simulation of the actual day.”
In Andhra Pradesh, Dr Srihari, Joint Director, State Immunisation Programme, was quoted by ANI as saying, "We're testing the preparedness of the cold chain, COVIN software, and vaccination programme through 25 beneficiaries."
The four states will also be reporting their observations recorded during the programme to the Centre, according to NDTV.
30 Crore Indians To Receive Vaccine Shots in First Phase
India may start its COVID vaccination drive in January 2021, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had hinted last week. The Drugs Controller General of India is reviewing three vaccines for emergency use, namely Pfizer, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute’s Covishield.
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had announced earlier that the Centre is preparing the line-listing of prioritised population groups for vaccination.
The ministry had reportedly said that the national expert group on vaccine administration has recommended 30 crore Indians to receive the vaccine shots first. This figure includes healthcare workers, frontline workers and the general population with co-morbidities.
(With inputs from ANI and IANS)
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