Ahead of the vaccine roll-out, a second dry run is set to take place across all districts in India on January 8, with an aim to ensure efficient planning and management for vaccine delivery across the country.
"As a simulation of actual execution, another round of dry run/mock drill in all 700+ districts of all States/UTs (except Uttar Pradesh and Haryana which have already conducted the dry run in all districts on January 5 and 7, respectively) is planned on January 8, 2021 to ensure efficient planning and management for vaccine delivery in each district of all States/UTs," the government said in a statement on January 6.
This dry run will help the state, district, block and hospital-level officers get familiar with all aspects of a COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the statement said.
"The dry run will help administrators in strengthening the linkages between planning, implementation, and reporting mechanisms, identification of any residual challenges prior to the actual implementation and to provide confidence to the programme managers at all levels to carry out a smooth implementation of the vaccination drive," it said.
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan will hold a meeting with the state/UT health ministers January 7, 2021, in this regard.
Two COVID vaccines have been given emergency use authorisation by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), and the roll out of COVID-19 vaccine is expected to begin by January 13.
How will it work?
Each district will identify three types of session sites, similar to the previous dry run including a public health facility (District Hospital/Medical College), private health facility, and rural or urban outreach sites.
The entire planning of the vaccination drive including beneficiary registration, microplanning, and vaccination at the planned session site, will be tested under the leadership of District Collector or District Magistrate.
The health ministry will be in constant touch with the states/UTs throughout the day to seek feedback and provide support and, ensure timely resolution of the identified challenges before the actual vaccination roll-out.
To facilitate the entire vaccination process, a software,‘Co-WIN’, has been developed by the health ministry for real time information of vaccine stocks, their storage temperature, and individualized tracking of beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccine.
This software will assist the programme managers across all levels in conducting the vaccination sessions.
A dedicated 24x7 call centre has also been established for technical queries of Co-WIN users.
The cold chain infrastructure (like walk-in-freezers, walk-in-coolers, ice-lined refrigerators, deep freezers) along with sufficient supplies of syringes and other logistics have been ensured to begin COVID-19 vaccination drive.
"Around 1.7 lakh vaccinators and 3 lakh vaccination team members have been trained on the process to be followed at the vaccination sites which include beneficiary verification, vaccination, cold chain and logistics management, bio-medical waste management, AEFI management and reporting on Co-WIN software," the government said.