2-day coronavirus vaccine trial starts in 4 states

A two-day dry run for the coronavirus vaccine programme began on Monday in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Assam. The focus is on management of possible negative reactions after immunisation. The dry runs include checks on cold storage. Transportation arrangements is a part of the programme that will be carried out in the chosen districts in each state.

All the four states will report their observations to the centre recorded during the programme. The government plans to cover 30 crore people in the first phase when it rolls out a vaccine for coronavirus.

A total of 2,360 training sessions have been held so far. Over seven thousand officials have been trained, including medical officers and vaccinators.

In Andhra Pradesh, the dry run is taking place at Krishna district. This is aimed at testing the planned operations and the laid-out mechanisms in the state.

Across the four states, five sessions will be held at identified locations with 25 healthcare workers identified as beneficiaries for each session.

After the dry run, a report will be prepared for the State Task Force, which will review the feedback and guide us on further actions.

Earlier this month, Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Pfizer had applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccines.

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