New Delhi, Oct 27 (UNI) Logistics of Covid vaccine delivery are as important as vaccine manufacturing and given the financial and logistical challenges, releasing a vaccine rollout plan for states and its review by health experts are urgently needed.
This was observed here on Tuesday by experts belonging to different fields who also maintained that exemplary Centre-state and public-private cooperation is needed to beat the odds.
The comments of experts came with Phase 3 results of at least one vaccine candidate expected by late November or early December.
They also underlined that several components in this strategy must move concurrently between now and early 2021 so that last lap 'mishaps' are averted.
These, the experts pointed out, include identification and prioritisation of beneficiaries for the first phase, manufacture of ancillary equipment like syringes and vials, setting up of cold chains, mobilizing and training vaccinators, identifying physical infrastructure akin to polling stations for vaccine administration and setting up an IT backend for data reporting and surveillance.
Informatively, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) to leverage the decentralised models followed during elections and disaster management.
The Covid vaccination effort for only the first phase could involve a whopping Rs 30 crore across the country.
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