Corona vaccine dry run begins in Delhi as India inches closer to national rollout; details here

The dry run for Covid-19 vaccination is underway at three districts in Delhi. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on January 1 conducted a virtual review meeting with Delhi government officials to talk about the preparations in place to conduct the first vaccination trial.

The hospitals that will be conducting the first-day dry run are Urban Primary Health Centre in Darya Gunj, Venkateshwara hospital in Dwarka and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Shahdara.

The Union Health Minister comparing the Covid-19 vaccination drive to pulse polio drive of 1994 in Delhi said that all relevant stakeholders from civil society organisations to NGOs need to be mobilized. “Just like we prepare during elections, the same way we need to train each member of all medical teams responsibly. The procedure is similar to conducting elections where the team at a booth is also trained,” he further said.

Talking to ANI, the Union Minister said that feedbacks received from four states that have already started dry runs were included in the guidelines set for Delhi. Except for giving the vaccine, every procedure is being followed during the trial, he noted.

The objective of the dry run is to assess the operational feasibility of the vaccination process, challenges in its implementation and how Co-WIN is faring as a digital platform to aid the process. The first round of the dry run was conducted in two districts each of Punjab, Gujarat, Assam and Andhra Pradesh in between December 28 and 29.

Health Secretary Amit Singla said that they are following all guidelines issued by the centre. All tasks were completed in the given time and the data of all healthcare workers have been uploaded on the digital platform Co-WIN app. Additional training of medical staff at the district level will be held soon, said Singla.

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According to the District Magistrate of Shahdara, the GTB Hospital will have 44 sessions, out of which 31 are ready. The hospital’s session site is ready while work on the remaining sites is underway. Work is going on to equip each site for three rooms and everything will be completed in time, assured the DM.

The GTB Hospital has 110 vaccinators and 63 additional vaccinators. There are 2700 healthcare workers, 70 doctors and supervisors.

Gopi Krishnan, district magistrate of the central district said 77 centres have been identified in Darya Gunj and details of 25 beneficiaries have been fed to Co-WIN. 300 people have been trained for the immunisation programme. CCTV cameras are being installed for safety and storage of vaccine doses.

According to Naveen Aggarwal, DM of Southeast district, there will be 47 sessions at their district hospital, out of which 30 are already ready. 15,000 beneficiaries have been identified and uploaded from the district.

Delhi government is “fully prepared” to store and administer vaccines, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on December 24. 51 lakh priority category will be immunized in the first phase that will include healthcare workers, frontline workers and people aged above 50 years with co-morbidities.