HOW CORONAVIRUS VACCINES WILL BE AVAILABLE TO INDIAN CITIZENS? COMMITTEE HOLDS IMPORTANT MEETING! KEY DETAILS LISTED

The procurement process for coronavirus vaccine in India is going to be supervised by the Central govt in India. The blueprint for nationwide vaccination is being developed in the country with extensive focus on last- mile delivery.

As the world comes closer to finding a COVID-19 vaccine with many undergoing the final phase and few up for production, the govt. Of India has clarified that a linear system is going to be setup to procure vaccine in India. 

The government has also added that this process is going to be supervised by the central government. State governments have hence been advised not to run parallel mechanisms for procurement of the vaccine. The National Expert Group on Vaccine administration for COVID-19, which is a NITI Aayog panel, held its first meeting on Wednesday. National Expert group along with the Union Health Ministry has said that the country should be using its potential to manufacture vaccine. The meeting was chaired by Dr VK Paul, a member of NITI Aayog along with Secretary (Ministry of Health) as co-chair. Reportedly, India is planning to engage with international manufacturers for early delivery of vaccines, however, it won’t be used just for domestic usage but will also be deployed in low- and middle-income countries as well as key neighboring countries. 

The experts panel also took factors such as the digital infrastructure required to deliver the vaccine. A report stated that a real- time tracking process will be put into place for fulfilling the purpose. The panel has also laid out a blueprint for identifying high- risk population groups and prioritize vaccinating them in the initial phases in order to control the spread of the virus. 

“India has two indigenous vaccine candidates by Bharat Biotech and Zydus Caldia underway. Meanwhile, phase 2-3 trials of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, named Covishield in India, are also likely to begin soon, as they have already been approved by DCGI,” Times Now reported.