Coronavirus Vaccine: Guidelines for India’s Mass Vaccination

The mass vaccination drive for the novel coronavirus is soon going to start. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has issued the guidelines for India’s mass vaccination drive, considering all efficacy and safety measures. Leading pharma giants, including the Serum Institute of India, Pfizer, and Bharat Biotech, have applied for the production rights for the coronavirus vaccine. The number of early target beneficiaries set by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) is nearly 30 crores, including front-line workers, healthcare workers, and people above 50 years of age. Depending on the disease fatality, the rest of the population will receive the vaccination afterwards.

The Centre has come up with a digitalised platform — COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) system — to register people for coronavirus vaccine trials and monitor them after getting vaccinated. The vaccination process is entirely based on priority by registrations. However, on-spot registrations will not be permitted. To identify the population by age parameters, the government has come up to refer to the latest electoral data for Lok Sabha and legislature elections. For self-registration on the Co-WIN website, people are given a choice to upload their identity documents out of 20 accepted identity proofs, including passport, pension card, Aadhar card, voter card, and others.

At present, six coronavirus vaccines are under clinical trials, which will soon come in the field for the mass vaccination process. These are being developed by Zydus Cadila, Bharat Biotech (with ICMR’s collaboration), Gennova Biopharmaceutical Ltd., Astra Zeneca, Oxford University, Biological E Ltd. (in collaboration with MIT), and Dr Reddy’s Lab with Gamaleya National Centre. Meanwhile, the central government has readied its blueprint for vaccine availability and production to withstand the population in the country. Procurement procedures from these organizations are under early finalisation. According to the ministry, they are all set to launch the coronavirus vaccine soon.

To ensure the smooth operation of the vaccination programme, the Centre has asked the states to provide coronavirus vaccines to their respective districts following all the safety precautions. The Centre has provided some standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the vaccination process. Following are the guidelines for India’s mass vaccination drive:

• On a daily basis, each vaccination centre will only vaccinate 100 to 200 people.
• Each vaccination centre will have a team of five members.
• Proper logistics and waiting areas will be maintained, and crowd management will be done at the vaccination centre.
• All COVID-19 precautionary guidelines have to be followed at vaccination sites. Wearing a mask is a must, and a social distance of at least 6 feet has to be maintained.
• Provision for increasing the medical staff is also there, in times of exigencies.
• The beneficiary will be observed for 30 minutes after the vaccination shot.
• A real-time record for vaccination will be kept and updated simultaneously through the Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) system.
• The state government has been asked to ensure the safe commuting of vaccines from manufacturers to the various districts.
• Moreover, the state has to make sure that vaccines undergo no mixing in the field.
• Coronavirus vaccines are to be carried in vaccine carriers with ice packs to avoid exposure to the sun.
• The covid vaccination kit will only be opened when the beneficiary is present there in person to receive the vaccine shot.
• All unused covid vaccination kits will be returned to the respective cold-storage points.
• The Union Health Ministry has promised “One needle, One syringe, Only one time” for safer needle disposal.
• Auto-disable syringes will be used in the entire vaccination programme to prevent blood-borne pathogens from person to person.
• Usage of an unused sterile packed AD syringe for each beneficiary.
• The coronavirus vaccines might not have vaccine vial monitors (VVM) and date of expiry on them due to their urgent need and mass production. This should not discourage their use among people.

The Central government has requested the concerned regulatory bodies to follow these guidelines in order to best accomplish India’s mass vaccination drive’s goals. The Centre has planned to deliver approximately 60 crore coronavirus vaccine shots in the first phase of the covid vaccination drive. To ensure this, the government seeks to gain 85,643 vaccine equipment and 28,947 cold-storage points for vaccine storage.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How soon can I expect the covid vaccination drive?

The Indian government is all set to launch the vaccination drive after completing the final stage trials of the observational vaccine tests. For the latest updates, visit www.mohfw.gov.in.

2. Am I bound to take the coronavirus vaccine?

No, you are not at all bound to take the vaccination. It is completely a voluntary call to go for the vaccination process. But we suggest having the coronavirus vaccine to limit the spread of the disease.

3. Can a person presently suffering from COVID-19 have the vaccination?

Vaccinations are provided to the people to limit the spread across the masses. But a presently suffering person with COVID-19 can infect the healthy people at the vaccination site. To avoid this, have vaccination after 14 days of symptom resolution at least.

4. What is the complete vaccination schedule?

The entire vaccination schedule comprises two doses to be given after an interval of 28 days.

5. What all side-effects can one suffer through after having a coronavirus vaccine?

All vaccines have some side-effects after the injection. One can have a mild fever, pain at the site of injection. The state government has been asked to make arrangements for the post-vaccination side-effects.

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