As India gears up to receive the first shipment of Covishield - the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, the second phase of the nationwide coronavirus vaccination dry run will be held today.
During the day-long exercise, more than 25 health workers will get dummy vaccines at each site, which is meant to test the mechanisms and reveal possible gaps in the system ahead of the actual Covid vaccination drive.
Also Read | Virus spread slows but two states still a worry
What you need to know about nationwide Covid vaccine dry run:
What is a dry run?
A practice session, in which a sample number of beneficiaries will go through a mock immunisation process is known as a dry run essentially.
Who will be participating in the dry run?
Around 1.7 lakh vaccinators and 3 lakh team members have been trained for verification of beneficiaries, vaccination process, cold chain and logistics management, bio-medical waste management, and adverse event following immunization (AEFI) management and for operating the Co-WIN software.
Aim of the dry run
The aim of the dry run exercise is to test the linkages between planning and implementation and identify the challenges. It will also test the operational feasibility of the use of CoWIN application -- a digital platform to roll out and scale up the vaccination drive -- in a field environment.
Where will dry run be conducted?
The Friday dry run will be held at three-session sites of 736 districts across 33 states and Union Territories (UTs) preparing for an imminent rollout.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh will not participate in this dry run mock drill as they have already conducted it in all their districts.
Here are the dry run centres announced by states:
Delhi: The health officials will conduct the second dry run for the Covid vaccination roll-out in Delhi that will span across several districts of the city. The districts include South Delhi, South East Delhi and North West Delhi and New Delhi, they said.
Maharashtra: The dry run for Covid vaccination will be held in 30 districts and 25 municipal corporation areas. The mock drill exercise is being done to detect logistical issues that may crop up in the actual immunisation drive.
Tamil Nadu - A dry run for the coronavirus vaccination will be held in all districts today, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan has said earlier.
Karnataka: Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar has said that the Covid vaccination dry run will be conducted at 263 places across the state. He also said 6.30 lakh healthcare workers serving in both government and private sector have registered for vaccination and the window for registration is still open.
Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh's Indore will hold the mock drill and it will be conducted at four centres. Covid Nodal Officer Dr Amit Malakar said that the mock drill will be conducted at four centres in Indore and for 25 people each.
Jharkhand: CM Hemant Soren has reviewed the ongoing preparations for vaccination and cold chain management in the state. As many as 99.89 lakh people have been identified for the vaccination, including 1.5 lakh healthcare workers comprising Anganwadi workers and 2 lakh frontline workers that will be vaccinated in the first phase.
Uttarakhand: The day-long exercise in preparation for Covid vaccination will be held in all 13 districts of the state. The mock drill will be conducted at 130 health centres across the state, 10 each in every district.
Puducherry: The second dry run of coronavirus vaccination would take place in nine centres across the state today.
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.
