With vaccination drive today, India inching closer to ending pandemic
Nearly two weeks after two vaccines were given the emergency use authorization, India will begin administering doses of coronavirus vaccine to its citizens, joining the list of countries where lakhs have been immunized. The drive, pegged as the largest in the world, is kick-starting after three mock drills and with the help of the Co-WIN platform, which is tailored especially for the nation.
Obviously, the drive is the best chance to end the pandemic that took 152,130 lives. For years to come, India's battle against the highly contagious disease would be defined by the strict lockdown, the heart-wrenching migrant crisis, and a broken economy that needs revival. Defeating all odds, India impressed the globe with its staggering 96.53% recovery rate, way better than even the developed nations.
After months of suffering and honoring precautions — anecdotal evidence shows Indians did wear masks and washed hands — the country would be taking the first step in the long journey of defeating the pandemic. Today, nearly three lakh healthcare workers of the selected three crore corona warriors would be immunized. The massive exercise will be conducted at 3,006 sites.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the campaign at 10:30 am and also address the nation. Notably, what turned out to be a boon for India is the fact that both vaccines were manufactured indigenously — Pune-based Serum Institute of India is mass-producing Covishield and Bharat Biotech, headquartered in Hyderabad, developed COVAXIN. By this week, over 15.5 million doses of both vaccines were procured.
Tomorrow, 16th January, India begins the pan-India rollout of COVID-19 Vaccination drive.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2021
The launch will take place at 10:30 AM tomorrow morning. https://t.co/zopwtXPmZO
To recall, PM Modi also announced that his federal government will sponsor the vaccination for three crore healthcare and frontline workers. Reportedly, Rs. 480 crore was being disbursed to states for this. In the first phase, 2,900 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers, and 300 solar refrigerators will be used.
While speaking to chief ministers on January 11, PM Modi also urged them to take the Co-WIN platform seriously. "It is my request that the real-time data generated during the vaccination should be uploaded on the Co-WIN platform. Even a small glitch can cause damage to this mission," he underlined. Since J&K and Chhattisgarh faced connectivity issues, they got an offline data upload mechanism.
For the seamless execution of the program, a total of 23 departments will be involved. These departments will handle everything from planning, implementation, social mobilization, and creating awareness. Meanwhile, at the central level, 2,360 people were trained, and at the state level, nearly 61,000 program managers, 2 lakh vaccinators, and 3.7 lakh other vaccination team members received the training.
In Rajasthan, the first person to be administered the dose will be Sudhir Bhandari, the Principal of Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College. Whereas in neighboring Madhya Pradesh, the first ones to get the jab will be a hospital security guard and an attendant. Delhi will be inoculating 8,100 healthcare workers today, who have been fighting the pandemic relentlessly since early last year.
"Public ko dikhana hai, aise hi Covid khatam hoga (We have to show the public, this is how COVID-19 will end) (sic)," an emotional 28-year-old Pavitra Chaturvedi, a nurse at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital who would get immunized soon, told IE.
