Here's how the government is planning to conduct COVID-19 vaccinations
With licensing for COVID-19 vaccines expected in the coming weeks, the government has drafted a plan for vaccination campaigns. Reportedly, as part of the draft plan, five personnel would be deployed for each COVID-19 vaccination site, where 100 people would receive the vaccine shot every day. After receiving a shot, people would also be examined for any adverse effects. Here are more details.
States focus on ramping up vaccine infrastructure
The Times of India reviewed a presentation made by the Health Ministry at a meeting with state immunization officers. The publication reported that states have started identifying specific vaccination sites and dedicated hospitals for adverse events after a person has been vaccinated.
Mandatory 30-minutes observation following vaccination
Reportedly, each vaccination site will have five vaccination officers, including one guard. Each site will also have three rooms, one for people waiting to be vaccinated, one where the shot will be administered, and another room to observe people following vaccination. People will be mandatorily observed for adverse events 30 minutes after vaccination. Those experiencing severe after-effects will be shifted to a dedicated hospital.
'Each site to have three rooms to allow social distancing'
Dr. Rajani N, one of the immunization officers who attended a two-day vaccination workshop organized by the government, told TOI, "The decision to have three rooms for vaccination is keeping in mind the need for social distancing." Dr. Rajani said, "While the vaccination room will see only one person enter at each time, the waiting and observation room will have seating for multiple people."
Three potential vaccines under consideration for emergency approval
Notably, India has not approved any COVID-19 vaccines as of now. However, three vaccine candidates are under consideration by the drug regulator, including Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield, Pfizer-BioNTech's BNT162b2, and Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN. India has already pre-booked 1.6 billion vaccine doses, including 500 million doses of Covishield, which is being manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine producer.
How bad is the outbreak in India?
According to the Health Ministry, India has reported 98,26,775 COVID-19 cases, with 30,006 fresh infections in the past 24 hours. India is the second worst-hit country in the world after the United States. The death toll has climbed to 1,42,628 with 442 more fatalities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 93,24,328 people have recovered, while only 3,59,819 cases involve active infections.
