COVID vaccine will be distributed under special immunization programme: Officials
New Delhi:As a controversy raged over BJP's election manifesto promising free coronavirus vaccine for everyone in Bihar, government officials on Thursday said the vaccine, once ready, will be distributed under a special COVID-19 immunization programme, with the Centre procuring it directly and making it available free-of-cost to all priority groups.
The Centre has started the process of identifying around 30 crore priority beneficiaries who will be given vaccine in the initial phase.
The Centre will procure the vaccine directly and make it available free-of-cost for the priority beneficiaries. States have been asked not to chart separate pathways of procurement, the officials said.
The existing digital platform and processes used for the Universal Immunisation Programme are being enhanced to track COVID-19 vaccine administration and movement, from procurement to storage to distribution to individual beneficiaries, as and when the vaccine becomes available, the health ministry officials said.
Also, online training modules are being developed for vaccinators.
The government has chalked out four categories which include around one crore healthcare professionals, including doctors, MBBS students and nurses, around two crore frontline workers, including municipal corporation workers, ASHA workers and police personnel, about 26 crore people aged above 50 and those below 50 with co-morbidities.
"A final decision is yet to be taken in this regard," an official said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday released the BJP's manifesto for the Bihar assembly polls which promised free COVID-19 vaccine once it has been cleared by the ICMR.
Presently, under the UIP children, adolescents and pregnant women are vaccinated against vaccine-preventable diseases free of cost by the state.
The National Expert Committee on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 has already mapped the existing cold chain being utilised under the government's immunisation program and has also made a projection of the additionality that will be required, health ministry officials earlier had said.
Presently, that group is now engaged with mapping the private sector facilities that could serve the needs of supplementing the cold chain equipment.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said that the Centre estimates to receive and utilise 40-50 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine covering around 25 crore people by July next year.
Vardhan had said that the government is working round-the-clock to ensure that there is a fair and equitable distribution of vaccines, once they are ready.
The biggest benefit that India has is that it has a robust immunization program in place and it is also implementing the largest immunization program of the world, with nearly 27 million newborns targeted annually, the minister said.
"We have an established infrastructure for supply, storage and delivery of vaccines to the last mile, under our Universal Immunization Program, where we are administering around 600 million doses to children every year.
"The strength of these experiences in the vaccination landscape, our best practices and the robustness of our health delivery system will be leveraged and augmented using a strong IT backbone, to ensure that this humongous national mission of vaccinating the identified priority groups with COVID-19 vaccine is achieved in a timely manner," Vardhan said.
He said the Indian government will leverage an integrated IT platform e-Vin (electronic Vaccine Intelligent Network) for managing vaccine distribution.
He assured that the government has accorded top most priority to research and manufacturing to ensure that the vaccine reaches the last person.
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BJP intimidating people and asking them to vote in its favour, alleges Gujarat Cong chief
Ahmedabad (PTI): Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was intimidating voters and asking them to either vote in its favour or refrain from voting in the Lok Sabha elections.
The ruling party in the state was misusing the government machinery to pressure the voters, he claimed.
The opposition party also released a phone number for voters to share the evidence, if they have any, against police or administrative officials trying to intimidate or pressure them to vote in favour of the BJP.
"It is a fundamental principle of democracy that the sacred festival of elections should be held neutrally without fear or bias. I have received representations from voters that they are being intimidated or pressured by the police and the administrative officials to vote in favour of the ruling party or refrain from voting," Gohil said in a video message.
He then urged the voters to make a video or audio recording of the criminal act of intimidation on their mobile phones, and if they have access to CCTV footage or stealth camera, they should collect the evidence and send it to WhatsApp number 8200059989 at the Congress party's war room at its state headquarters.
The development comes days after the nomination form of a Congress candidate from Surat, Nilesh Kumbhani, was rejected over discrepancies in proposers' signature, which Gohil claimed happened because the party candidate was intimidated by the BJP.
"The police and government employees are public servants, and your religion is to act neutrally without fear and you are expected to perform your sacred duty as a public servant," he said.
He also urged the voters to collect and save the evidence against officials or ministers or functionaries of the party in power so that they can use them when those who asked them to threaten people back out.
They can use the evidence against them as and when needed, Gohil added.
He also accused the people in power of approaching Congress candidates across the state and using various means to force them to withdraw their candidature.
"But they stood their ground and are worthy of salute," the Congress leader said.
On Sunday, Gohil claimed that the nomination form of the party's Surat Lok Sabha seat candidate Kumbhani was rejected at the behest of the BJP as it has sensed its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Kumbhani's form was rejected and other candidates eventually withdrew their nominations, leading to BJP's Mukesh Dalal winning the election unopposed.
Gohil claimed that Kumbhani was intimidated by the BJP.
"It hatched a conspiracy to get the forms of Congress candidates cancelled by hook or by crook. Kumbhani was their target ever since he filed his nomination form because BJP sensed defeat in Surat seat," he said.
Elections to the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held on May 7.
