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Nationwide Covid vaccine mock drill in India on Jan 2

India To Conduct Dry Run For Vaccine Administration In All States On Jan. 2

India with the world’s second-highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world after the United States, is set to launch nationwide dry run-on Saturday, January 2. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan and concerned officials reviewed the arrangements for the massive drive. Approval for a vaccine could be around the corner a high powered committee is expected to okay a vaccine any moment. The central government has asked for the exercise to gear up for the rollout of the vaccine. It has directed that the dry run should be conducted in all capitals in at least three sites. The mock drill will include concurrent monitoring and review at the block and district levels and preparation of feedback. The State Task Force shall review the feedback and share with the Union Health Ministry. The states/UTs were also asked to address the communication challenges by taking in confidence all the stakeholders and by augmenting the community engagement through innovative strategies. In Delhi, the sites were chosen in three different districts after a meeting of the health department. The sites are Venkateshwara Hospital in South West district, the Daryaganj dispensary in Central district and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Shahdara district. For each site, the medical officer-in-charge will identify 25 healthcare workers who will be test beneficiaries. The data of these beneficiaries are already uploaded in the Co-WIN application. The Union Health Secretary chaired has a high-level meeting with all states ad Union Territories to discuss the issue. This is the second dry run being conducted in the country after the it was held first on December 28 and 29 in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat which have sent positive outcome.  An estimated  96,000 vaccinators have been trained for this, the health ministry said. Of these, 2,360 participants have been trained in National Training of Trainers and over 57,000 with district level training in 719 districts. The dry run will be conducted at selective places in each state. It will be conducted in at least three sites of each state capital. Some states will have to include districts situated in difficult terrains or have poor logistical support. Maharashtra and Kerala are likely to schedule the dry run-in major cities other than their capitals. Edited by PK Chakravarty

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