New Delhi, December 28: COVID-19 vaccine dry run has begun in four states of India on Monday for two hours - December 28 and 29. These four states are - Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Assam. The mock drill of vaccination drive will focus on the management of any possible adverse events following immunisation (AEFI). In addition, the drive will also aim at adherence and management of infection control practices at the session site, to prevent disease transmission.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said, "As the vaccine administrators will play an important role in the coronavirus vaccination process, training of trainers and those who shall administer the vaccine has been taken up across various States." Over 2,360 participants were trained during national level Training of Trainers which comprised state immunisation officers, cold chain officers, IEC officials, development partners etc.

Details of Dry Run in Andhra Pradesh:

In Andhra Pradesh, the dry run of the coronavirus vaccination programme has begun in  Krishna district. The vaccine dry run will take place at five locations of the district. "The dry run is aimed at testing the planned operations and the laid out mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccination in the state. It will provide insights into any gaps or bottlenecks so that those could be addressed before the commencement of the actual drive," Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar.

Details of Dry Run in Punjab:

In Punjab, the dry has begun in two districts – Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. The health ministry has identified five sights in each district for the dry run drive. "The dry run will exercise end to end testing of COVID-19 vaccination process and will vaccinate pre-identified beneficiaries from specified groups supported by Co-WIN, an electronic application," stated Balbir Singh Sidhu.

Details of Dry Run in Assam And Gujarat:

Meanwhile, in Assam, the mock drill of the vaccination programme is currently underway in two districts of the state – Sonitpur and Nalbari at five locations each. Locations selected for the dry run, include – Tezpur Medical College, Dekiajuli CHC, Tezpur Urban Health Centre, Ghograpar block PHC, Sarathi hospital and Nalbari health centre. In Gujarat also, the programme has stated at several locations.

India has eight COVID-19 vaccine candidates, including three indigenous vaccines, under different stages of clinical trials which could be ready for authorisation in the near future. It includes AstraZeneca and Oxford University developed, and Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech Limited, ZyCoV-D by Zydus Cadila and Russian vaccine candidate Sputnik-V.

The list also contains NVX-CoV2373 by SII, HGCO19 by Geneva, and two unlabeled vaccines-Recombinant Protein Antigen based vaccine by Biological E Limited-and Inactivated rabies vector platform by Bharat Biotech.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2020 10:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).