• Union Health Minister interacts with social media users in Sunday Samvaad-4
•   States to submit lists of priority population groups by month end
• 400-500 million doses to cover approximately 20-25 crore people by July 2021 

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan yesterday said that the Government has set up several Committees to work out the process of distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

Interacting with social media users during Sunday Samvaad-4, he said that topmost priority in COVID-19 immunisation will be given to frontline healthcare workers.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the Health Ministry is currently preparing a format in which States will submit lists of priority population groups to receive vaccine, especially health workers engaged in the management of COVID-19. 

The list of frontline health workers will include both Government as well as private sector doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitary staff, ASHA workers, surveillance officers and many other occupational categories who are involved in tracing, testing and treatment of patients.

This exercise is targeted to be completed by the end of this October and the States are being closely guided to also submit details about cold chain facilities and other related infrastructure which will be required down to the block level.

He said that the Centre is also working on plans for building capacities in HR, training, supervision etc., on a massive scale and roughly estimates to receive and utilise 400-500 million doses covering approximately 20-25 crore people by July 2021. He further informed that the Government is also keeping an eye on immunity data with regard to COVID-19 disease while finalising these plans.

He stated that there is a High-level Committee under the Chairmanship of NITI Aayog Member (Health)  V.K. Paul which is drawing up the entire process.

”Vaccine procurement is being done centrally and each consignment will be tracked real time until delivery to ensure it reaches those who need it most,” the Minister said.

He added that these Committees are working on understanding the timelines of availability of various vaccines in the country, obtaining commitments from vaccine manufacturers to make available maximum number of doses for India inventory and supply chain management and also on prioritisation of high-risk groups.

”This is work in progress which will be completed by the time the vaccines are ready to ensure the swift roll-out of the immunisation programme,” the  Minister said.

Clearing glaring misconceptions that seem to have captured the imagination of rumour mongers in pockets of Punjab, Dr. Harsh Vardhan strongly rebutted allegations that the COVID-19 pandemic was a Government conspiracy to enable organ harvesting of healthy individuals. He stated that the Government is not tied to fiscal considerations from financing agencies for implementation of the COVID-19 emergency response in the light of the recent loan from the World Bank- Asian Infrastructural Investment Bank and the Asian Development Bank to the tune of Rs. 15,000 crore for managing COVID.

The Minister assured another respondent that there would be no diversion or black-marketing. “Vaccines will be distributed as per pre-decided priority and in a programmed manner. To ensure transparency and accountability, details of the entire process will be shared in the coming months,” the Minister said.

He stressed the need to prioritise health care workers and adults or those have underlying health conditions.

Answering similar questions, he said that it is not possible to comment on the superiority of one vaccine over the other although he would ensure “that even if we have multiple vaccines available, they will all be safe and will elicit the requisite immune response against Novel Coronavirus.”

He said that all vaccines that have proven to be safe, immunogenic and efficacious in clinical trials outside India need to undergo bridging studies to prove their safety and immunogenicity in the Indian population as well although these studies can be conducted with much smaller sample size and end quickly.

Clinical trials 

While tackling a question on the level playing field for various clinical trials, Dr. Harsh Vardhan shared that all proposed clinical trials in India are designed using set principles and are stringently reviewed by the Subject Expert Committee set up by the Drug Controller General of India.

Recently, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has also formulated draft guidelines on regulatory requirements for licensure of COVID-19 vaccines in India.

On a question regarding Phase-3 Clinical Trial of Russia’s “Sputnik-V” vaccine in India, Dr. Harsh Vardhan clarified that the matter is still under consideration, and no decision has been taken as yet on the Phase-3 trials.