'COVID-19 vaccine will be administered within 3-4 weeks once available': Satyendra Jain

Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain on Saturday once again assured that the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered in the national capital within few weeks depending on its availability. Jain stated that once the vaccine is available, the Delhi government will ramp up measures for the vaccine with its health infrastructure. 

'Vaccine will be administered within 3-4 weeks'

During his interaction with the media, Jain reiterated that the Delhi government will use its health facilities to administer the vaccine with 3-4 weeks once it is available. He had previously stated the same on Friday.  "There is no need to worry about storage of vaccines. We have a large number of health care facilities, such as mohalla clinics, polyclinics, and hospitals etc, where a COVID-19 vaccine can be administered to people," Jain told reporters.

"Once a vaccine is available, we can vaccinate the entire population of Delhi in a few weeks," the minister said. Jain also said Delhi should be given priority during the distribution of the vaccine as it is the national capital.

COVID-19: Have Enough Infra To Vaccinate Delhi's Entire Population In Few Weeks, Says Jain

A three-storeyed building on the premises of Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital has also been identified for storage of COVID-19 vaccines. Delhi's Immunization Officer Suresh Seth on Thursday remarked that the national capital is geared up for the COVID-19 vaccination programme and the city's entire population can be covered in a month.

"We have 600 cold storage points and around 1,800 outreach sites for the universal immunization programme for children. We have sufficient equipment for vaccines that can be stored at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and those that need minus 15 to minus 25 degrees Celsius. The central government is further strengthening the infrastructure and providing more equipment," Seth had told PTI.

He had said the equipment and infrastructure for vaccines that need ultra-cold conditions (minus 70 degrees Celsius) are not there, but "we don't think there will be any problem logistically because the immunization programme will be carried out in a phased manner". "If we involve hospital staff and nurses etc., we can easily vaccinate the entire population in a month," he had said, adding that at present, the Delhi government is collecting data of health care workers who are at top of the priority list of the Delhi government.

"If a vaccine is available, we can administer it to all healthcare workers in just three days... We have sufficient equipment and cold storage space, we are geared up. We won't let Delhi falter," Seth stressed.

READ: PM Modi At His 1st Stop Of 3-city COVID Vaccine Tour, Meets Scientists At Zydus Cadila Lab

COVID-19 vaccine in India

So far, three coronavirus vaccine candidates are leading the race on a global level, namely Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D and Serum Institute of India's Covishield which is being made in partnership with Oxford University and  AstraZeneca. Bharat Biotech and ICMR's Covaxin has successfully completed phase one and two trials and phase three of human trials are currently underway. Serum Institute of India's Covishield is currently in phase three trials and interim data shows that it has about 90% efficacy. Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D had kicked off phase two clinical trials in August and have announced their plan to apply for phase three trials in December and launch the vaccine by March 2021, as per media reports. 

(Image Credits and inputs: PTI