New Delhi: The government is aware that 1,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine were found frozen at Silchar Medical College and Hospital, Assam on Jan.15, Health Minister Ashwini Choubey told Lok Sabha on Friday. No other specific incidence of damage from vaccine doses in cold stores has been brought to the attention of the Department of Health so far, he said in response to a question about damaged doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
In a written response to another question, the minister said that up to Feb. 11, a total of 70.17 lakh health workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Until February 8, Rs 960.75 crore has been used for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
Furthermore, Rs 480 crore has been set aside as operational costs for COVID-19 vaccination, of which Rs 123.49 crore has been disbursed to states and territories of the Union (UTs), he said. The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) provides guidance on all aspects of the vaccination program, including population prioritization, procurement and inventory management, vaccine selection, vaccine delivery and tracking mechanism, among others.
The NEGVAC has prioritized health professionals, frontline workers, those aged 50 and over, and those under 50 years of age with co-morbidity for vaccination against COVID-19. As of February 9, a total of 97.72 lakh health workers and 71.64 lakh frontline workers were registered on the Co-WIN application, Choubey said.
Two coronavirus vaccines, namely Covishield ‘manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin’ manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited, have received limited use approval in emergency situations from the national regulator. Up to February 9, a total of 59.56 lakh doses of Covishield and 3.02 lakh doses of Covaxin have been administered, the minister informed parliament.
The Pfizer-Biotech vaccine has not been approved for use in India, he said in response to another question. Asked whether the orders placed so far are expected to cover all those proposed to be vaccinated in the first round at the rate of two doses per person, the MoS said delivery orders for a total of 410 lakh doses have been placed by the center for both vaccinations.
These delivery orders also include 100 lakh doses received from Gavi support through the COVAX facility, he said. “The orders placed so far are enough to cover the ongoing vaccination efforts for health care and frontline workers. Purchases of additional quantities of vaccines have also been taken into account,” Choubey said.
The two COVID-19 vaccines require completion of a two-dose schedule 28 days apart to complete the vaccination process. It takes about 14 days after the second dose to develop immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, he said in response to another question. On whether the government is proposing to launch an awareness campaign to counter the problems / doubts arising from the effects of the vaccine and instill confidence in the people, the Union minister said that a communication strategy has been developed for implementation on national and national levels to raise awareness about safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines through rapid and consistent dissemination of factual information and to address disinformation related thereto.
The strategy is based on five key pillars: advocacy, capacity building, media engagement, community engagement and crisis management. It is meant to leverage human (Jan Bhagidaari) ownership to bring out awareness about vaccination and its intended benefits, he noted. Choubey added that several measures have been taken for a successful implementation of the strategy.
These include capacity building of stakeholders at the national and state levels, including state immunization and IEC officials, civil society organizations, local radio professionals, among others, to leverage their networks for active campaigns to raise awareness about the benefits of vaccination, he said. Aggressive advocacy to build confidence in vaccines has also been made by reputable public and private sector physicians at the national and state / UT levels, who have been vaccinated and through other key influencers.
The Department of Health also reviews news stories in real time and develops and disseminates content on building confidence in vaccines and to counteract misinformed media coverage. A special campaign against vaccine hesitation has also been launched by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan, the minister added.