COVID-19 Vaccine: Second dry run today ahead of roll-out | 5 Points

After the central government approved COVID-19 vaccines Covaxin and Covishield, a dry run- which is a rehearsal to figure out the best way for vaccine distribution- is being held countrywide for the second time.

This exercise will expose any loophole in the distribution system along with logistical or training problem. The first massive dry run took place on January 2. States like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh will not be participating in this dry run as they have already conducted it in all their districts. 

This exercise will also test the feasibility and efficiency of the CoWIN app which is deemed to use as a database manager for every COVID vaccine shot. Short for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network, CoWIN is a digital platform to roll out and scale up the vaccination drive. 

Here is everything you need to know about the dry run:

• The nationwide dry run will cover three-session sites of 736 districts across 33 States/Union Territories.  It will also cover several districts of Delhi after parts of the capital were covered during the first dry run.

• Over 25 health workers will get dummy vaccines to test the mechanisms and reveal any possible loopholes in the system ahead of the actual COVID vaccine drive. CoWIN app will include AADHAR authentication and SMS confirmation after the vaccine has been given. It will cover at least 12 languages and will help inoculate millions of people against COVID-19.

• The dry run will be planned as per the priority list set for the actual COVID vaccine drive. The frontline workers including doctors, healthcare workers, police and others engaged directly in fighting the pandemic will get the jab first followed by people over 50 years of age with severe health problems.

• Union Health Minister Harshvardhan said on Thursday that the country is in the final stages of preparation for the rollout of the Covid vaccine. "From healthcare workers to municipal workers -- all such people are part of priority groups. This is 3 crore in total. After that, 27 crore people will get vaccinated," he added.

• After the government cleared Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for emergency use, it said that vaccination for COVID-19 would start within 10 days from the day when vaccine-makers were given emergency use authorisation.