A dry run to prepare for the rollout of COVID-vaccine is being conducted by all the states and Union Territories today. The objective of the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine introduction is to "assess operational feasibility in the use of COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (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," according to a statement by the Union Health Ministry. This is also expected to give confidence to programme managers at various levels, it said.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reviewed the dry run exercise in a Delhi hospital and said there should be no misconceptions about the safety of the coronavirus vaccine that India plans to use as "everything has been checked in detail".
"There should be no rumours about the vaccine's safety...Everything has been checked in detail. Initially when the polio vaccine was rolled out, even then rumours had floated. But once it went on the floor, all people were assured about the safety," he said..
Dr Harsh Vardhan had on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness at session sites across the country for COVID-19 vaccination trial run on Saturday and said just like preparations during elections, each member of medical teams should be trained responsibly.
The minister urged every official to ensure that the vaccination sites and officials in-charge abide by the detailed checklist and Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs) for vaccination that has been prepared by the Union Health Ministry.
Today's exercise is the second dry run being conducted in the country - the first was on December 28 and 29 in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat.
