COVID-19 vaccine dry run held across India, Health Minister visits two Delhi hospitals to review mock drills
Jan 02, 2021
New Delhi [India], January 2 : Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday visited two mock vaccination sites in Delhi to review the dry run drill for administering COVID-19 vaccine.
The minister first visited the GTB Hospital in Shahdara and later an Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) in Daryaganj.
The Health Ministry on Saturday conducted a nationwide mock drill at 285 session sites to test the end-to-end planned operations and the mechanism that has been set up to ensure smooth conduct of the COVID-19 vaccination that is expected to begin soon.
The minister later said in a tweet that details of how further 27 crore priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated against COVID-19 until July are being finalised.
"In 1st phase of COVID-19 vaccination, free vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries that include one crore healthcare and two crore frontline workers. Details of how further 27 crore priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalised," he said.
In his remarks, he warned the citizens against falling prey to rumours and disinformation campaigns regarding the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and rubbished the rumours being propagated on social media which are raising doubts in the mind of the public regarding the vaccine side-effects.
The Minister urged the media to exercise caution and to behave responsibly and check all facts before publishing or broadcasting any reports.
The minister expressed satisfaction at the preparations at the GTB Hospital.
"The entire exercise of the vaccination process is being systematically taken forward, including training of personnel for administering the vaccine. Detailed guidelines have been issued to multiple stakeholders after extensive deliberations, paying attention to each and every minute aspect," he said.
Speaking on the preparedness for ensuring that the vaccine reaches even the remotest corner of the country, the minister said that the country's cold chain infrastructure has been sufficiently upgraded to ensure last-mile delivery and adequate supplies of syringes and other logistics have also been provided for.
