People wait outside a vaccine trial room at a government hospital in Ahmedabad. Photo: PTI.
New Delhi: The Centre will use electoral rolls drawn during the latest rounds of Lok Sabha and assembly elections to identify who should make it to the priority list when it comes to administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the 113-page guidelines issued to states recently, importance will be given to the section of the population above the age of 50. This prioritisation assumes significance as vaccination centres will follow pre-prepared lists during the drives, leaving no option for on-the-spot registrations.
The vaccine race – closely followed in India, and globally – has been fraught with confusion and hasty press releases. India is considered a lucrative market for vaccine providers, with the world’s second highest number of coronavirus patients behind the US.
A report on The Hindu, on the Centre’s introduction of the digital platform called the COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) system to track enlisted beneficiaries on a real time basis, highlights these points.
Those above 50 may further be divided into two groups of citizens above 60 and those between 50 and 60, the report says. The phased rollout will prioritise the more elderly, in addition to healthcare and frontline workers.
The guidelines call for busy days once vaccines reach the stage of administration. The Centre aims to inoculate 100-200 people in each session per day and monitor them for 30 minutes after administering the shots. Mobile sites will also come up to make sure drives are carried out at remote areas.
Also read: COVID-19 Vaccines in India: Will Need for Speed Overcome Safety Checks?
Teams administering vaccine will not only comprise health workers like doctors and nurses but also members of the law enforcement. Training of all persons involved in administering the vaccines is ongoing.
The states have been asked, as far as possible, to allocate a vaccine from just one manufacturer to a particular district to avoid mixing of different brands in the field. At present, India’s vaccine hopes rely on four options: AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, Zydus Cadila and India’s own Bharat Biotech.
All measures should be taken to avoid exposing the vaccine carrier, vaccine vials or ice packs to direct sunlight, the document containing the Centre’s guidelines has stated. Vaccines and diluents should be kept inside the vaccine carrier with the lid closed until a beneficiary comes to the centre for vaccination.
“There may not be vaccine vial monitors (VVM) and ‘Date of Expiry’ on the label of COVID-19 vaccine, this should not discourage vaccinators from using the vaccine. At the end of the session, the vaccine carrier with all ice packs and unopened vaccine vials should be sent back to the distributing cold chain point,” the guidelines say.
States have been asked to implement an integrated 360-degree comprehensive advocacy communication and social mobilisation strategy to address the challenges surrounding vaccine rollout progress and benefits.
This process includes the visible challenge of ensuring that the 1.3 billion people in India receive factual and timely information and updates on vaccine rollout progress and its benefits. The guidelines also ask state governments to take efforts to ensure that the public is not in fear of adverse events and harbour no misconceptions on vaccine efficacy.
A Reuters report has highlighted that India’s vaccination drive is estimated cost $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion. “By comparison, India’s 2020/21 federal budget allocated just under $10 billion to healthcare,” it says.
(With PTI inputs)