Centre Issues Advisories to States for Vaccination Plan From 1 May

States asked to check the number of hospitals that have procured the vaccines and have stated the prices on Co-WIN.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Shruti Mathur / The Quint) 

As the government of India has paved way for a “liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination” from 1 May onwards, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a meeting on Saturday, 24 April, to advise states and Union Territories (UT) on the effective implementation of the vaccination strategy.

The states were advised to register additional private COVID vaccination centres in mission mode by engaging with private hospitals, hospitals of industrial establishments, among others.

States were also asked to monitor the number of hospitals that have procured the coronavirus vaccines and have mentioned the stocks and prices on the Co-WIN platform.

Following are some of the other advisories told to states and UTs in the course of the meeting:

• Prioritise decision regarding direct procurement of vaccines by governments of different states and UTs.
• Publicise about facility of ‘only online registration’ for people in the age group of 18-45 years.
• Staff at COVID vaccination centres should be trained about vaccination, AEFI reporting and management, usage of Co-WIN.

States were also suggested to conduct a review on their existing hospital and COVID treatment related infrastructure amid increasing number of infections in the country.

Further, the states were also advised to prepare for field hospital facilities either through DRDO and CSIR; ensure sufficient amount oxygen supported beds, ICU beds and oxygen supplies, deploy of human resources with adequate training and mentoring of doctors and nurses, strengthen ambulance services, etc.

The meeting was chaired by Bhushan and Dr RS Sharma, chairman, Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to combat COVID-19, who said that the Co-WIN platform is operating flawlessly.

He further noted the importance of uploading correct and timely data by respective states and UTs on the platform.

On 19 April, the Government of India announced the decision to permit everyone above 18 years of age to be vaccinated from 1 May, adding that states and private hospitals will be able to buy vaccines from private manufacturers.