Centre tells states to set up task force for COVID vaccine introduction

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote a letter to the chief secretaries of states and Union Territories and directed them to set up task forces at the state and district level to oversee the planning and preparation with regard to the COVID-19 vaccine introduction.

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Saturday said that COVID-19 vaccine introduction will span over a year with multiple groups being included sequentially starting from Health Care Workers (HCWs).

"Therefore, it is important to create a strong advisory and coordination mechanism at the state and district level to guide the process of COVID-19 vaccine introduction while ensuring minimal disruption of other routine healthcare services including immunization," Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter written to the chief secretaries of states and Union Territories.

"It is anticipated that initially the supply of vaccines will be limited in view of huge demand hence, prioritization of socio-demographic groups will be done for vaccination and subsequently other groups will be included for vaccination," he added.

Bhushan in his letter (a copy of which is available with ETV Bharat) asked the states and UTs to set up a state steering committee (to be headed by the chief secretary), state task force (to be headed by principal secretary-health) and district task force to be headed by the district magistrate.

"As you are aware, vaccines could be an effective intervention for control of COVID-19 pandemic. With multiple vaccine candidates in various stages of development, the Government of lndia has started preparations for introduction of COVID-19 vaccine. As per the advice of National Expert Group on Vaccination Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC), it is envisaged that the vaccine will be first prioritized for Health Care Workers (HCWs) followed by other front-line workers and age groups," Bhushan said in his letter.

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He highlighted that states have already begun various preparatory activities like assessment of their cold chain space and its augmentation and preparation of databases of HCWs etc.

"As the activities regarding introduction of COVID-19 vaccine further expand, it will be important to review their progress in a structured manner and across all levels. ln this regard, a coordination mechanism needs to be established at the state and district level," Bhushan said.

Bhushan said that the state steering committee will oversee the creation of a database of Health Care Workers (HCWs), who will be prioritized for vaccination in the first phase, on COVID-19 vaccination beneficiary management system (CVBMS).

"It will also review the state's preparatory activities in terms of cold chain preparedness, operational planning, communication planning, strategies for anticipated state-specific challenges in terms of geographical terrain, network connectivity, hard to reach areas, etc," Bhushan said in his letter.

It will mobilise human and other resources and coordinate planning and other activities with other departments. "HR with expertise in medical and health may be utilized for vaccination while other HR may be used for operational support, IEC, resource mobilization, community mobilization etc. and financial planning for COVID-19 vaccine introduction amongst HCWs followed by other priority socio-demographic groups," it said.

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The state task force will track districts for adherence to timelines for overall implementation of COVID-19 vaccine introduction as per the guidelines approved by NEGVAC and communicated from the national level.

The letter further said that the district task force will monitor progress on key activities such as microplanning, communication planning, cold chain and vaccine logistics planning. "Accountability to be fixed for each activity at all levels. Planning and mapping of vaccination sessions where HCWs will be vaccinated during the 1st phase of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out," Bhushan said in his letter.

Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla called for a review meeting on Monday with senior officials of his department and the Delhi government over the current spike in COVID cases in the national capital.

Officials in the Home Ministry said that the meeting is a regular review meeting to take stock of the Covid-19 situation in the national capital.

It may be mentioned here that Delhi, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have witnessed a spike in Covid cases during the ongoing festive season.

Participating in a meeting with health ministry officials., AIIMS director Randeep Guleria reportedly said that precautionary measures need to be strictly followed. He also emphasised on the threat being imposed by air pollution in the national capital.

He stressed that elders should not leave their houses unless absolutely necessary. All social distancing norms should be followed. "Elderly or those already suffering from a serious illness should avoid going out. Due to poor air quality, health will be damaged. Go outside when it is sunny and whenever you go outside, apply a mask," said Guleria.

Read:COVID-19: India's caseload goes past 81 lakh with 48,648 fresh infections