How do you vaccinate a country of 1.3 billion? A gargantuan task indeed. That’s the challenge facing India as it launched a vaccination programme on January 16 to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Size and numbers have never intimidated India. After all, the country has been successfully running the world’s largest democratic exercise for more than seven decades. So the COVID-19 vaccination programme shouldn’t be too difficult despite the enormous hurdles.
Much like the rest of the world, India has been reeling from the onslaught of the coronavirus. COVID-19 infections have surged so much that India is second only to the United States with more than 10.5 million cases and over 150,000 deaths. The economy also has taken a hit. The country applied lockdowns early last year, yet the infections keep soaring. So vaccination offers the best solution to prevent the spread of the virus.
1,000 Covid-19 vax doses found frozen in Assam medical college
By IANS |
Published on
Tue, Jan 19 2021 23:06 IST |
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Nagaon: A nurse administers Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine to a man at a JE vaccination camp set-up at the Civil Hospital in Nagaon of Assam on March 26, 2015. . Image Source: IANS News
Guwahati/Silchar, Jan 19 : Authorities in Assam are probing how the 1,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield were found frozen in the vaccine store of the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), officials said on Tuesday.
Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli and state National Health Mission Director Lakshmanan S. have separately ordered probes to identify the reason for the 100 vials of Covishield, containing 1,000 doses, being frozen .
Updated Jan 19, 2021 | 17:43 IST
The fact that the rate of immunisation was only half of what was expected per session suggests that vaccine hesitancy continues to permeate at high rates through the Indian population. Representational image. | Photo Credit: PTI
Key Highlights
It hasn t helped that several notable political leaders have also worked to erode trust in the scientific community
India s Universal Immunisation Programme – the largest in the world – has encountered vaccine hesitancy for years stemming from various causes
A December 2018 study across 121 high priority districts chosen by the Health Ministry also revealed that nearly a quarter of parents refused to vaccinate their children under the belief that vaccines caused more harm than good
1,000 Covid-19 Vaccine Doses Found Frozen at Assam Medical College, Probe Underway
Authorities in Assam are probing how the 1,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield were found frozen in the vaccine store of the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), officials said on Tuesday.
Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli and state National Health Mission Director Lakshmanan S have separately ordered probes to identify the reason for the 100 vials of Covishield, containing 1,000 doses, being frozen .
Health officials in Guwahati, however, are not labelling the 100 vials or the 1,000 doses a waste yet as they would get them tested in a laboratory to test the efficacy of the vaccine. According to SMCH officials, the development was noticed on Saturday, the first day of the nationwide vaccination drive. According to the guidelines of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, producer of Covishield in India, the vaccine needs to be kept at a temperature between 2-8 degre