'Where was Rahul Gandhi when PM Modi reviewed plans to distribute COVID vaccine?': Malviya

BJP’s Amit Malviya pulled up Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for demanding the government to define a policy to ensure fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the nation. Malviya said that Gandhi ‘has woken up late’ as he is unaware that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already conducted a review meeting regarding this in June.

The BJP leader posted a snip of PM Modi’s tweet dated June 30 in which he reviewed preparations relating to COVID-19 vaccine development. PM Modi mentioned that he also discussed the creation of a tech platform that would help in vaccinating people on a large scale.

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Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi demanded that the Central government clearly define an inclusive and equitable vaccine access policy to ensure its affordability and fair distribution. He said India will soon be one of the countries producing COVID-19 vaccines and the government must spell out its strategy now.

Human trials on various vaccine candidates for the novel Coronavirus are underway across the world, including in India. There are seven major pharmaceutical companies in the country that have joined in the global efforts to prepare a vaccine for Covid-19.

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Govt panel discusses strategy for vaccine availability, delivery

India's top panel for Coronavirus vaccine administration met for the first time on August 12 and discussed conceptualization and implementation mechanisms for the creation of a digital infrastructure for inventory management and delivery mechanism of the vaccine, including tracking of vaccination process with particular focus on last-mile delivery.

The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 meeting was chaired by Niti Aayog member Dr V K Paul, along with Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan as co-chair. The group delved on procurement mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccine, including both indigenous and international manufacturing along with guiding principles for prioritization of population groups for vaccination.

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The panel discussed financial resources required for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine and various options of financing the same. Available options in terms of delivery platforms, cold chain, and associated infrastructure for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination were also taken up.

Further, strategy and follow-up action on all possible scenarios to ensure equitable and transparent delivery of vaccine was deliberated upon. Issues related to vaccine safety and surveillance were taken up and strategy for community involvement through transparent information and awareness creation were discussed.

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