India begins a two-day dry run in four states to assess vaccination rollout preparations

Amid scare of a new Covid strain, a two-day dry run of the Covid-19 vaccination programme will be taking place in four states in the country.

According to a Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's (MoHFW) press release, to prepare medical personnel for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, detailed training modules have been administered for vaccine administrators in various categories. The training includes all operational aspects such as organizing vaccination shifts, using the Co-WIN platform, deploying team members, cold chain preparedness, etc.

The vaccine administrators include medical officers, vaccinators, alternate vaccinators, cold chain handlers, supervisors, data managers, ASHA coordinators, etc. The government has already issued training to 2,360 trainers and over 7,000 district trainees. The dry run is done to make sure that there are no hiccups during the vaccinating process and help evaluate the preparations for the Covid-19 vaccination drive.

Dry runs are being carried out in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat on December 28-29. The (MoHFW) has prepared a detailed checklist and shared it with the four states.

According to the press release, the Centre selected four states based on their geographical location. Each state will plan the dry run in two districts and preferably in five different session types such as district hospitals, community health centres, primary health centres, private health facilities, etc.

Reportedly, Punjab has selected Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts to conduct the Covid vaccine dry run. The Andhra Pradesh government selected Krishna District to hold the dry run and, according to reports, it will be carried out in five districts. “We are testing the preparedness of cold chain, Co-Win software and vaccination programme through 25 beneficiaries,” Dr Srihari, Joint Director of Andhra Pradesh Immunisation Programme, told a news agency.

Earlier, the national expert vaccine administration group had recommended three prioritized population groups. The groups include about one crore healthcare workers, two crore frontline workers, and 27 crore people in the prioritized age group.