New Delhi (NVI): The Central government today decided to conduct a dry run of the COVID-19 vaccination in all states and union territories on January 2, the Health Ministry said.
The decision was taken during a high-level meeting to review preparedness at session sites for COVID-19 vaccination, which was chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Pr. Secretaries (Health), NHM MDs, and other health administrators of all States/UTs.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Health said, the activity is proposed to be conducted in all state capitals in at least 3 session sites.
“Some states will also include districts that are situated in difficult terrain/have poor logistical support, while Maharashtra and Kerala are likely to schedule the dry run in major cities other than their capital,” it added
The objective of the dry run is to assess operational feasibility in the use of Co-WIN application in field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guide way forward prior to actual implementation.
“For each of the three session sites, the concerned Medical Officer In-charge will identify 25 test beneficiaries (healthcare workers). The states and UTs have been asked to ensure that the data of these beneficiaries is uploaded in Co-WIN. These beneficiaries will also be available at the session site for the dry run,” the statement stated.
The ministry has also asked the States and UTs to ensure physical verification of all proposed sites for adequacy of space, logistical arrangements, internet connectivity, electricity, safety etc.
Also, prepare at least three model session sites in each state for demonstration and ensure that the Model Sites have separate entry and exit in a ‘three-room set-up’ with adequate space outside for awareness generation activities.
According to the data, as many as 96,000 vaccinators have been trained for this purpose. Out of these, 2,360 participants have been trained in National Training of Trainers and over 57,000 participants trained in district level training in 719 districts.
Earlier, the first round of the dry run was conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Punjab on December 28 and 29 in two districts each where five session sites with 25 beneficiaries each were identified.
“No major issues were observed in the operational aspects during this dry run and all states expressed confidence in the operational guidelines and IT platform for large scale programme implementation,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the government has also asked all states and UTs to ensure effective preparedness for the vaccine roll out. With the objective of gearing up for the roll out of COVID-19 vaccine across the country.
-RJV
