EXPLAINED | What Is Centre's Covid Trial Run Programme Ahead Of Vaccine Rollout

Each state will plan the dry run in two districts and preferably in different session type settings, for example, district hospital, urban site, private health facility, rural outreach, etc.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: According to the Union Health Ministry, in order to assess the preparedness of the mechanism laid out for the mass vaccination program against the Covid-19 disease, eight districts in four states of Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat have been chosen for a trial run. The two-day dry run will be held on December 28 and 29. According to the Health Ministry, each state will plan the dry run in two districts and preferably in different session type settings, for example, district hospital, urban site, private health facility, rural outreach, etc. "This exercise will enable end-to-end mobilization and testing of COVID-19 vaccination process and check the usage of Co-WIN in a field environment," the ministry said in a statement. What is Dry Run? A dry run is a mock drill that will help in staging the complete session of the upcoming massive Covid-19 vaccination drive. The dry run will include the enlisting of the beneficiaries through the Co-Win mobile application, staging a complete vaccination session following the prescribed protocol, and testing of cold storage and transportation management. The trial run will also enable linkages between planning, implementation, and reporting mechanisms and identify challenges and guide the way forward prior to actual implementation, including improvements that may be required in the envisaged process. Co-Win App To Be Used In The Trial Run The government has been developing the Co-Win mobile application since March, earlier this year for the administration of the vaccine. The trail run will be providing hands-on experience of the mobile application to programme managers at various levels. Activities including necessary data entries in Co-WIN to vaccine receipt and allocation to the deployment of team members, mock drill of session sites with test beneficiaries to reporting and evening meeting, will be part of the two-day mock drill which is scheduled to take place on December 28 and 29. The dry run will also include testing for cold storage and transportation arrangements for Covid-19 vaccine, management of crowd at the session sites with proper physical distancing. A special focus will be given to the management of the Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) during the dry run. In addition, adherence and management of infection control practices at the session site, to prevent disease transmission. "The mock drill will include concurrent monitoring and review at the block and district levels, and preparation of feedback to be shared with the State and Union Health Ministry. Detailed checklist has been prepared by the Union Health Ministry and shared with the four States to guide them in the dry run," added the ministry. Vaccine Update In India As the Union Government is planning such a large-scale inoculation progarmme, there are eight Covid-19 vaccine candidates, including three indigenous vaccines, under different stages of clinical trials which could be ready for authorization in near future and a vaccine is likely to be available by January 2021. It includes AstraZeneca and Oxford university developed and Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech Limited, ZyCoV-D by Zydus Cadila, and Russian vaccine candidate Sputnik-V. The list also mentions NVX-CoV2373 by SII, HGCO19 by Geneva, and two unlabeled vaccines-Recombinant Protein Antigen based vaccine by Biological E Limited-and Inactivated rabies vector platform by Bharat Biotech. Training For Vaccination Personnel Has Been Started For such a large scale vaccination drive, the vaccine administrators will play an important role in the vaccination process, training of trainers and those who shall administer the vaccine has been taken up across various States. Detailed training modules have been developed for different categories of vaccine handlers and administrators to strengthen the capacity of our human resource for Covid-19 vaccine introduction and roll-out. Medical officers, vaccinators, alternate vaccinators, cold chain handlers, supervisors, data managers, ASHA coordinators, and all others involved in the implementation process at different levels are being trained for the vaccination programme. Use of Co-WIN IT platform for the management of the entire vaccination process, deployment of HR Cold chain preparedness, management of adverse events, communications and intersectoral coordination, biomedical waste management, infection prevention protocols, etc is part of the training programme. As many as 2,360 people were trained during national level Training of Trainers which comprised state immunization officers, cold chain officers, IEC officials, development partners, etc. As of now, the state-level training had been completed in all States and UTs with the participation of more than 7,000 district-level trainees, except Lakshadweep which will conduct it soon on December 29. Health Helpline Numbers Have Been Strengthened In order to facilitate redressal of queries on Covid-19 vaccination and Co-WIN portal related queries, national 1075 and state 104 Helpline capacity has also been strengthened to address queries beyond their routine support. Who Will Get The Vaccine? Amid such preparation for the massive inoculation drive, the biggest question that arises is who will get the vaccine first? The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of Covid-19 (NEGVAC) has recommended three prioritized population groups including Healthcare Workers (HCWs) (about 1 crore), Frontline Workers (about 2 crores), and Prioritized Age Group (about 27 crores).