THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid reports of rolling out the Covid vaccination programme in the country, the need for readying the system well in advance in the state is being stressed by many. They have mainly raised two demands.
One, a vaccine blueprint covering aspects like how the vaccine can be stored and distributed in state, who will administer it and from where it should be publicised. And two, the constitution of a special adverse drug reaction committee which can monitor and follow up those who receive the vaccine shots. The latter is out of fear that many diverse and previously unrecognised types of reactions might happen among the groups selected for vaccination.
While countries like Russia, China, Indonesia, UK and others kick-started their vaccination programme against Covid, here in the country, a couple of vaccine manufacturers have approached the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation for emergency use authorisation of Covid vaccine. It is said that at any time approval for the same will get granted and a national-level vaccination coverage plan will be rolled out.
“As of now, it will be the health workers who will receive the vaccine shots first. But chances are high that groups like older care home residents and their caregivers, those over 80 years of age and others will also be included. Thus a plan must be there and a committee should be constituted to monitor the aftereffect of the vaccination,” said an infectious disease expert at a government medical college hospital.
However, the health department is of the stance that a special group is not needed for adverse drug reaction monitoring as the state already has one in the form of State Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (STAGI).
At the same time, the health department is yet to initiate the measures to convene the meeting of the committee it formed to examine the prospects of setting up Covid vaccine manufacturing units by tying up with vaccine manufacturers like Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila. A member of the committee said, “There is no communication whatsoever regarding when the committee will convene.”