The government said a dry run for Covid vaccine will be held in all states on Saturday, January 2, as authorities hinted that approval for a vaccine could be around the corner.
The government said a dry run for Covid vaccine will be held in all states on Saturday, January 2, as authorities hinted that approval for a vaccine could be around the corner. The Union Health Secretary on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting with all states and Union Territories. The health ministry said that this is the second dry run being conducted in the country — the first was held on December 28 and 29 in four states and had gone off without a hitch.
According to sources, the dry run will happen at selective places in each state. The process of dry run involves dummy Covid vaccines being received by the participants, meant to test the mechanisms and reveal possible gaps in the system ahead of the actual vaccination drive.
The health ministry on Tuesday said the two-day mock drill showed India is ready to start inoculation. “All the four participating states are satisfied with systems put in place for COVID-19 vaccination process,” the statement said.
The dry run across the country comes at a time when there’s an anticipation of a launch of a vaccine in the New Year. Dr VG Somani, the country’s Drugs Controller General, today said: “Probably we will have a new year with something in hand”.
The assurance comes ahead of a crucial meeting of the expert panel on emergency use vaccine authorization scheduled tomorrow. Applications from the Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer are being examined.
Oxford-AstraZeneca’s ‘Covishield’ is being seen as the front runner, which is being manufactured by Serum Institute.
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