Kerala participated in the nationwide dry run for COVID-19 vaccine administration on Saturday by conducting the mock drill at six sites in four districts.
Senior health officials said the dry run, essentially a mock drill of beneficiary vaccination and end-to-end reporting of the entire vaccination process, went off smoothly in all six sites.
The dry run was held at three sites in the capital district — the Poozhanad primary health centre, Peroorkada district model hospital, and KIMS hospital in the private sector.
The same was held at the Vazhathoppu public health centre (PHC) at Idukki, Nenmara community health centre at Palakkad, and the Kurukkamoola PHC in Wayanad district also.
Health Minister K.K. Shylaja, V.K. Prasanth, MLA, District Collector Navjot Khosa, and senior health officials were present at the Peroorkada district model hospital to witness and oversee the the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine administration.
At each site, 25 health-care workers, participating in the dry run, were identified by the medical officer concerned and their data were uploaded on the test link of CoWIN, (COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network), an electronic platform readied by the Centre for the smooth and seamless facilitation of the entire vaccination process.
To test linkages
The dry run was thus an exercise to test the CoWIN platform’s functionality and efficiency and to test linkages between planning, implementation, and reporting mechanisms, apart from assessing the State’s cold-chain preparedness, alternative vaccine delivery logistics, and most importantly, proper reporting of any adverse events following vaccination.
Officials said the call centre/helpline query and adverse events reporting were also tested.
Talking to media persons, Ms. Shylaja said while there was no official intimation yet regarding when the State should expect the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, it was expected to reach the State soon. All districts were fully prepared to administer the vaccine as and when it arrived and that the registration of the priority group of front-line health-care workers was almost complete in the State.
Till now, 3.13 lakh health-care workers — 1.59 lakh in the government sector and 1.54 lakh in the private sector — had registered their names and this was expected to go up to 3.5 lakh. Ms. Shylaja added that there was no need for any anxiety regarding the vaccine’s safety as the reports of the safety profile till now had been excellent.
Priority list
The State expected to put over 50 lakh of the elderly in the State on the priority list for the second phase and hoped that the Centre would provide adequate vaccine stock to cover this vulnerable population.
Apart from the State’s vast cold-chain arrangements, including three walk-in-coolers, 521 ice-lined refrigerators (ILRs) in districts, 69 large ILRs, and another 1,589 ILRs in primary health centres, the Centre has provided 14 lakh auto-disabled disposable needles and syringes, 20 more ILRs, 1,800 vaccine carriers, 100 large and small cold boxes, and 12,000 ice packs to the State.
