The Covid Vaccine: India Must Prepare To Distribute And Administer On A Huge Scale
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-09-07 13:34:33
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Even as the country opens up further, Covid cases are rising at an alarming rate all over India. It has already overtaken Brazil to occupy the second spot in the list of worst-affected nations. But the biggest worry is that despite the ample time procured by imposing a nation-wide complete lockdown from the end of March to the middle of May, India might not have the health infrastructure required to tend to the flood of patients expected to troop into medical facilities in the next couple of months. Also, contrary to expectations from experts that cases would peak in September, one feels that they will take another month to do so. September might see the biggest spike and even by the most conservative estimates, more than 3 million new cases are expected to be added in the month.
The month of August was bad enough, but September is turning out to be a nightmare. As testing is being ramped up, daily cases have crossed the 60Ks, 70Ks and 80Ks in a canter and are now hovering at the mark of a hundred thousand daily, having stepped into the 90Ks. The week August 31- September 6 saw 5.8 lakh new coronavirus cases being registered, a jump of 13% from the previous week. Most of these cases are being reported from the hinterland, showing that the virus has penetrated deep and wide in India. Although daily death figures are not alarming and the recovery rate is also satisfying, the problem is that the huge new daily additions will put severe stress on the health infrastructure and would stress the health workers, who have been working fearlessly and tirelessly for the last six months, further.
It has been reported that since the prestigious medical journal Lancet has said that the Russian vaccine is "safe" and "effective", India is eyeing to procure the same. Concurrently, a committee has been instituted under the chairmanship of Vinod Paul, a member of the Niti Aayog, to dwell upon how the vaccine is to be distributed and administered to the huge population. The government has already identified that health and security workers, members of the Armed forces, the elderly, children and those with comorbidities will be given first preference in the administration of the vaccine. The Paul committee must now decide how best to use the existing delivery network and how to supplement it so that a majority of the population is covered within the shortest possible time. It also has to look into the procurement of the vaccine from various sources and its safe delivery (vaccines need to be stored at set temperatures) to administration points. This is a huge task and the planning must start now so that India is ready when the commercial supplies start.
