Govt Begins Preparations For Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout, Asks States To Set Up 3-Tier System For Distribution

The distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine will take place over a year, and will start with healthcare workers, followed by other groups to be added “sequentially”, the central government has told states and Union Territories (UTs) in a letter.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: In a letter from the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on October 26, 2020, the central government has asked states and UTs to put in place a three-tier system to oversee the rollout of the vaccine and address any hiccups, including rumors on the upcoming Covid-19 vaccine. The distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine will take place over a year, and will start with healthcare workers, followed by other groups to be added “sequentially”, the central government has told states and Union Territories (UTs) in a letter. As per the letter, the government is planning to create the Covid-19 Vaccination Beneficiary Management system (CVBMS) to ensure smooth administration of the vaccine and will be creating committees to coordinate work on updating the database of health workers. As per the plans, the three tiers will comprise a state steering committee, headed by the chief secretary, a state task force, headed by the principal secretary (health), and a district task force, led by the district magistrate. The committees should meet at a minimum frequency of once a month, once a fortnight, and once a week, respectively. As per the upcoming reports on the supply of the Covid-19 vaccine, it is anticipated that initially the supply of vaccine will be limited in view of huge demand, hence, prioritization of socio-demographics group will be done for vaccination and subsequently, other groups will be included for vaccination,” states the annexure. “In all likelihood, the Covid-19 vaccine introduction will span over a year with multiple groups being included sequentially, starting from healthcare workers (HCWs). Therefore, it is important to create strong advisory and coordination mechanism at the state and district level to guide the process of Covid-19 vaccine introduction while ensuring minimal disruption of other routine health care services, including immunization,” The current plan for the distribution of Covid-19 came out ahead of the developments coming from the vaccine candidates going under different phases of clinical trials. Currently, in India, there are 4 different Covid-19 vaccine candidates undergoing different phases of human trials, out of which two are indigenously developed while the other two are in partnership with Indian Pharmaceutical brands.