Centre to begin Covid-19 vaccine transportation in 2 days; 41 destinations finalised

The Centre will begin the transportation of Coronavirus vaccines by Thursday or Friday, news agency ANI quoting government sources reported. It said that the government has allowed passenger aircraft to transport vaccines from Pune, which will be the central hub from where the jab distribution will take place.

41 destinations finalised for delivery

Around 41 destinations across the country have been finalised for delivery of vaccines, the news agency said. For northern India, Delhi & Karnal will be made mini hubs. For the eastern region, Kolkata will be the hub, it will also be a nodal point for the northeast. Chennai and Hyderabad to be designated points for southern India, ANI further said. 

Meanwhile, in the light of vaccine rollout, another mock drill will take place on January 8 across all States and Union Territories, the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan reiterated on Thursday. In his meeting with the health ministers of States and Union Territories, Harsh Vardhan said that the Centre has reviewed the feedback on the dry run of Covid-19 vaccine in 4 states and the government has made improvement based on that.

'Seamless last-mile delivery of the vaccine'

Noting that India's is doing well in its fight against COVID-19, the Health Minister said that people should not forget to follow the COVID-19 norms. "Maharashtra, Kerala and Chhattisgarh have seen a sudden spike in Coronavirus cases recently. This gives us a warning that we shouldn't forget precautions and continue our fight against COVID-19," Harsh Vardhan said.

"COVID-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin are on the verge of being available in the country. Our efforts are to ensure seamless last-mile delivery of the vaccine," he said. The Union Minister also hailed the efforts of India's COVID front line workers and scientists who have worked hard during the pandemic.

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On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) had informed that a second dry run will take place on January 8 across all districts of the country, except in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. While Uttar Pradesh has already conducted the dry run in all districts on January 5, Haryana is scheduled to organise the same on January 7. The Health Minister also stated that around 1.7 lakh vaccinators and three lakh vaccination team members have been trained to administer the coronavirus vaccine.

The first dry run of the vaccination drive took place across 125 districts covering all States/UTs on January 2. It was conducted to familiarise the state, district, block, and hospital-level officers on all aspects of the COVID-19 rollout. The dry run was aimed at testing the laid out mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in the health system and to assess operational feasibility of using Co-WIN application in a field environment for planning, implementation, and reporting at the block, district, and state level.

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(With agency inputs)