Preparation and training for COVID-19 vaccination being done on 'war-footing', says Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also said potential beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccine will be informed via an SMS and a digital certificate will also be issued.

January 01, 2021 / 16:02 IST

SII, Bharat Biotech, and Pfizer have applied to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

As the possibility of a vaccine being granted emergency approval in India within the next few days seems increasingly plausible, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on January 1 said the preparation and training for the purpose of administering an approved vaccine is being done on "war-footing".

"The preparations are like the general elections, where even booth level participation is ensured," Vardhan said.

This comes at a time when the health ministry has asked all states and Union territories to identify days when the vaccination drive would be held and a dry run is scheduled for January 2 to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify challenges.

Read: COVID-19 vaccination drive: Over 70 lakh healthcare workers registered on Co-WIN platform

"The purpose of the dry run is to be ready for the actual roll out," Vardhan said, adding that India's past experience in rolling out vaccinations would be used.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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Preparation and training for COVID-19 vaccination being done on 'war-footing', says Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also said potential beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccine will be informed via an SMS and a digital certificate will also be issued.

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Preparation and training for COVID-19 vaccination being done on 'war-footing', says Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also said potential beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccine will be informed via an SMS and a digital certificate will also be issued.

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