Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said all Indians will get the COVID-19 vaccine free of cost, as a dry run to the world’s biggest vaccination drive against a pandemic kicked off across all the states and Union Territories.
At a time many countries are still grappling with the vaccine-availability, India is among the first few nations to start a mock vaccination drive within nine months of the WHO declaring COVID-19 as a pandemic.
After an experts’ committee’s recommendation, the Drug Controller-General of India (DCGI) is in the process of approving the vaccine, Covishield, whose 30 crore doses are being initially manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) under a license from Oxford University and pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca.
Dr Vardhan assured that the vaccines were safe and effective and they will be available for free to all citizens. He urged the people not to heed the rumors being spread against vaccines and the vaccination drive. All the protocols will be followed strictly, he said, adding the success of vaccination against poliomyelitis was a shining example of India’s achievement earlier.
The Minister, himself a well-known medical practitioner in the national capital, visited the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Delhi to review preparations for the coronavirus vaccination drill, which started in Delhi on Saturday.
“In the 1st phase of #COVID19Vaccination, free #vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritized beneficiaries that include 1 crore healthcare & 2 crore frontline workers. Details of how further 27 crore priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalized,” Dr. Vardhan tweeted.
“Feedbacks received after the dry run in four states were included in guidelines for vaccination and today’s dry run in all states/UTs is being conducted as per new guidelines. Except for giving the actual vaccine, every procedure is being followed during the drill.”
Dr. Vinod Paul, a NITI Aayog member and head of the national Covid-19 task force, said the government will inoculate 30 crore individuals belonging to priority groups in the first phase of its vaccination drive.
In the next 6-8 months, frontline workers, especially those working in healthcare and the elderly will be targeted in the initial phase of vaccination. In all, 31 hubs had been established to supply vaccines to 29,000 vaccination points in last-mile delivery.
Dr. Paul said preparation has been completed across the country for the disbursal of COVID-19 vaccines. “We are working as one team in India–the industry, the government, and the stakeholders. Implementation arms of the government are working in sync with each other. We are on the same page as the industry.”
He assured that stockpiling capacity will rise to ensure wider vaccination against the pandemic. “We want to ensure that the entire nation develops herd immunity. To stall the spread of the disease, we require wider vaccination,” he said.
On Friday, the expert panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) recommended conditional approval of Covishield for emergency use.
