All preparations have been made.
Mass production [for the eventual Covid-19 vaccine] will begin once scientists give their nod.
A roadmap is ready to ensure it reaches everyone in India in the shortest possible time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech.About a month later, on September 17, Union Health Minister Dr.
Harsh Vardhan had a further update when he informed Parliament that a Covid-19 vaccine might be developed by early 2021.But it would take time in making the vials available to the public in large quantities, he also said.And this is where Indias next big challenges lie, now that a potential solution is on the horizon to end the pandemic responsible for the cumulative tally of 5.4 million infections including more than 90,000 deaths in the last eight months.While about 4.3 million patients have recovered, lockdowns imposed to contain the highly contagious disease have wrecked the Indian economy and triggered a wave of job losses and mental health problems.Most restrictions have been lifted, but activities like schools, cinema halls and regular international flights remain shut till date.THE BIG TASKSOnly a vaccine can induce an immune response into humans at the levels that might prevent cases of Covid-19 infection.
When a safe, effective and affordable vaccine is available, authorities will have to quicken its mass production and make it market-ready with all regulatory concerns taken care of.Then come the extraordinary logistics that are needed.
Getting vials from manufacturing sites to Indias remotest parts such as the North-East and Ladakh in the Himalayas will be an uphill task, literally.
Remember, the eventual vaccine will have to be stored and shipped at extremely low temperatures.
This is because the injections must last long enough in transit.A network of lakhs of health workers will have to be trained and deployed in various parts of the country, home to 1.3 billion people.
This is to ensure people dont have to travel much for vaccination.
And all this will have to be done in the middle of a raging pandemic.While the governments priority is likely to be frontline workers, people over 65 years and those with co-morbidities, the immunisation programme may take several months and even a few years, experts have said.As per an optimistic assessment, India will have mass vaccination by late 2021.
But Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has said that not enough Covid-19 vaccines will be available for everyone until the end of 2024.India, which has been jolted by the highest single-day caseload in the world since early August, is praying for an early start of vaccination.
We may overtake the US in the coming weeks as the country with most infections (not deaths).India has consistently reported over 1,000 Covid-19 deaths every day in recent weeks.
Globally, cases of SARS-CoV-2 that causes coronavirus disease or Covid-19 have exceeded 31 million, including nearly 1 million deaths.The pandemic that started from Chinas Wuhan in December 2019 before spreading to the world is showing no signs of slowing.WHAT THE GOVT IS DOINGIndia has an Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
The digital system provides real-time information on vaccine stocks, tracks their movements and storage temperatures across 25,000 dedicated cold chain points in the country.
Involving community, medical and agricultural cold chains will also be an option, a senior official told India Today.The eVIN monitored by health authorities at state and district levels is being enhanced to address distribution (to health facilities and outreach sites) and tracking challenges of an eventual Covid-19 vaccine, the government informed Parliament on Sunday.The network has about 42,000 cold chain handlers for digital record-keeping and 24,000 electronic temperature loggers, the official said.Multiple ministries and authorities are on the job.
A National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 is guiding the government on prioritisation of population groups for vaccination, delivery mechanisms, cold chains and associated infrastructure.It has met representatives of leading domestic vaccine manufacturers to seek inputs and know their expectations from the government.
Niti Aayog member VK Paul and Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan were present at the meetings.
The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PK Mishra, has also met top officials to discuss an effective vaccine distribution system, the official said.India is the largest vaccine maker, supplying more than 60% of stocks that the developing world gets.
Our experience in various successful immunisation programmes will also come in handy against this once-in-a-century health crisis, he said.Such a dose of optimism is welcome by millions who are quietly praying that the execution of the vaccination roadmap mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Red Fort does prove to be a decisive shot in the arm for the country in its war on Covid-19!