NEW DELHI: Preparations would be complete by 13th Jan for covid vaccination across the country and inoculations could begin in another ten days, said Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, adding that, it is up to the central govt to take a final call on actual commencement.
Covishield produced by Serum Institute and Covaxin from Bharat Biotech are the two vaccines that passed regulatory approval on urgent basis Sunday. Over 3 crore persons comprising health and frontline workers have been specially registered for inoculations to be injected with the vaccine in the first phase, Their details are part of Covin Vaccine Distribution database.
Manufacturers will dispatch their vaccines to government medical store departments across Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Karnal(Haryana). From there, the vaccines will be distributed to 37 states at their respective govt medical stores before being funneled to the various district centres within. A network of 29,000 refrigeration units has been set in place to receive the vaccine arrivals.
Though inoculation is purely a matter of choice, the central govt advised every one to get vaccinated both for self protection and to curb the spread of virus.
A vaccine is approved only after confirming it is safe and effective, so there need be no concerns over its safety or benefit, the Union Health Ministry said in response to a query. The vaccines in India are of the exact type used in foreign countries in terms of effectiveness and safety, it added.
