India is all set to begin the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccination drive on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag-off the first phase of the drive at 10:30 am today via video conference. During the first phase of the inoculation drive about three crore healthcare and frontline workers will be vaccinated. The cost incurred during the first phase of vaccination will be borne by the Centre, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said earlier.
Healthcare workers will be vaccinated with either Serum Institute’s Covishield or Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. The Centre has purchased 1.10 crore doses of Covishield and 55 lakh doses of Covaxin. While Serum Institute sold its vaccine at a cost of Rs 210 per vial (including taxes), Bharat Biotech provided 16.5 lakh shots of Covaxin free of cost to the Centre while it sold 38.5 lakh doses at a cost of Rs 295 (sans tax).
A total of 3,006 session sites across all states and union territories will be virtually connected during the launch at 10.30 am by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site.
Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College Principal Sudhir Bhandari will be the first person in Rajasthan to be given the shot, while in Madhya Pradesh, a hospital security guard and an attender will be among the first to get the jab.
Modi said the country on Saturday would enter a "decisive phase" in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. "Tomorrow, January 16, India begins the pan-India rollout of COVID-19 Vaccination drive. The launch will take place at 10:30 AM tomorrow morning," he tweeted on Friday.
His office had said this will be the world's largest vaccination programme covering the entire length and breadth of the country and all preparations are in place to initiate it on the principles of 'Jan Bhagidari'.
On the eve of the roll-out, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reviewed the preparations and visited the dedicated Covid control room set up at the Nirman Bhawan premises of the health ministry.
The vaccination drive has been planned in a phased manner, identifying priority groups. Healthcare workers, both in government and private sectors including ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) workers, will receive the vaccine during this phase, the health ministry said in a statement.
Vardhan said India's exercise to vaccinate its population against Covid-19 shall be the largest immunisation drive of the world. He reiterated that both the indigenously manufactured vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin have proven safety and immunogenicity records and are the most important tools to contain the pandemic.
Speaking at a separate programme, he said, "Tomorrow is an important day...it is the last phase of our battle against coronavirus. I say, this is probably the beginning of the end of Covid.”
An online digital platform Co-WIN, developed by the health ministry, will be used to drive the vaccination programme. Adequate doses of both Covishield and Covaxin have already been delivered to all states and union territories.
A dedicated 24x7 call centre -- 1075 -- has also been set up for addressing queries related to the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccine roll-out and the Co-WIN software.
According to the government, the shots will be offered first to an estimated one crore healthcare workers, and around two crore frontline workers, and then to persons above 50 years of age, followed by persons younger than 50 years of age with associated comorbidities.
In Delhi, the drive will kick off from the state-run LNJP Hospital with a simple ceremony in the presence of Chief Minister Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendar Jain. A trio of a doctor, nurse and a sanitation worker will receive Covid-19 vaccine shots in the presence of Kejriwal at LNJP Hospital, sources said.
The 81 sites named in the national capital for administering the jabs include six central government facilities like AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital and Kalawati Saran Children Hospital and two ESI hospitals.
Medical superintendents of government hospitals at Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar will be among the first to get the shots in Gujarat, where over 16,000 health workers will be vaccinated during the day, officials said.
In Assam, an estimated 6,500 people of the 1.9 lakh health workers will be vaccinated on the first day. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate the drive at Assam Medical College Hospital, Dibrugarh and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
Former vice chancellor of Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences Dr Umesh Chandra Sarma will be the first to receive the initial dose in the state. The other doctors to be vaccinated are Padma Shri awardee and surgeon Dr Ilias Ali, Sahitya Akademi awardee and former principal of Barpeta Medical College and Hospital Dr Dhrubajyoti Borah, GMCH principal Dr Achyut Baishya and its superintendent Dr Abhijeet Sharma.
(With PTI inputs)
