India’s two-day dry run for coronavirus vaccine programme started on December 28 in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Assam. Focus on management of possible adverse events after immunisation, and dry runs that include checks on cold storage and transportation arrangements will be part of programme that will be carried out in the chosen districts in each State.
All the four States will report their observations to the centre recorded during the programme. A total of 2,360 training sessions have been held so far, and 7,000 officials have been trained, including medical officers and vaccinators.
The dry run in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh is aimed at testing the planned operations and the laid-out mechanisms in the State, Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar said on Sunday.
Across the four States, five sessions will be held at identified locations with 25 test pre-identified beneficiaries — healthcare workers — for each session.
Feasibility of Co-WIN, an electronic application that identifies beneficiaries, and prerequisites for vaccine introduction as per operational guidelines will be assessed.
AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunisation) panels will be formed and treatment centres will also be identified if the vaccine triggers an adverse response in any of the beneficiaries.
In Assam, the health department will roll out the dry run in two districts – Sonitpur and Nalbari districts The testing of the COVID-19 vaccination process includes vaccine and logistics mobilization to the sites in the two districts, as per officials.
Earlier this month, Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Pfizer had applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccines.
India has logged over 1.01 crore coronavirus cases so far, the second highest in the world after the United States. Over 1.47 lakh people have died after contracting the virus, one of the most infectious the world has seen in decades.
