India is ready for Covid-19 vaccine. While the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization is in process of reviewing different Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use approval, the state and Union Territory administrations are preparing for an imminent rollout. To ensure that phase 1 of Covid-19 vaccination drive goes glitch-free, all states and UTs across India will organise a dry run on Saturday.
The aim of the dry run is to test linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges. The dry run will also test Co-WIN application, developed specifically for Covid-19 vaccine drive, in a field environment.
Here’s all you need to know about nationwide Covid-19 vaccine dry run:
What is dry run?
Dry run is essentially a practice session where a sample number of beneficiaries will go through a mock immunisation process.
Who will participate in the dry run?
Apart from the staff of the designated vaccination centres, the dry run will see the participation of a select group of health care workers as test vaccine beneficiaries. Each centre will identify 25 test beneficiaries for the dry run.
Where will dry run be conducted?
The Saturday dry run will be conducted across all states and UTs. Each state/UT has been asked to conduct the dry run at minimum three session sites in their capitals. Some states will also include districts that are situated in difficult terrain/have poor logistical support.
Delhi: Venkateshwara Hospital in South West district; Daryaganj dispensary in Central district; and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Shahdara
Jharkhand: Ranchi, East Singhbhum, Chatra, Palamu and Pakur
Uttar Pradesh: Sahara Hospital, RML Hospital, King George's Medical University and SGPGI as well one centre each in Mall block and Malihabad block in Lucknow
Jammu and Kashmir: UT administration has identified 9 hospitals in 3 districts Jammu, Srinagar and Kulgam
Gujarat: Dahod, Bhavnagar, Valsad and Anand districts
Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Wayanad and Palakkad districts
Punjab: The state is conducting dry run in Patiala. Three identified sites are: Government Medical College; Sadhbhavna Hospital; and the Community Health Centre in Shatrana.
Haryana: Here the dry run will be held in three health care centres in Panchkula.
Karnataka: The dry run will be conducted at Kamakshipalya Urban PHC (West Zone), Vidyapeetha Urban Primary Health Centre (South Zone), and Hargade PHC in Anekal that comes under the Bangalore Urban district.