BHUBANESWAR: With the Centre directing the States to remain ready for first phase Covid-19
vaccination, Odisha Government has initiated process to augment its existing cold chain and step up the surveillance mechanism on adverse event following immunisation.
While there is no clarity on which vaccine and when to be available, it is anticipated that there may be a combination of vaccines. Though the vaccines will be procured by the Centre and initially distributed among the priority groups, the State will facilitate the distribution process.
Of around five vaccine candidates that are under Phase III human trials, health officials believe, four vaccines are suitable for the country as that can be preserved in deep freezer and transported through the existing cold chain.
Odisha has a well developed cold chain network up to the immunisation points, but it has to go for capacity augmentation to meet the challenges in storing a combination of vaccines in different temperature set up.
Along with one State vaccine store (SVS), there are nine regional vaccine stores (RVS) and 32 district vaccine stores (DVS) from where vaccines are transported to 1222 distribution points through ice lined refrigerators (ILRs).
The entire cold chain system is online through an electronic vaccine intelligence network. Once the Covid-19 vaccine is linked with the network, any health official can check the condition of vaccine in one click.
From stocks to temperature of the vaccine containers, everything can be monitored though the web-based system. People involved in the distribution and management of vaccines have been linked with the network and they have been provided cell phones so that the whole process can be monitored on real time basis.
While the vaccine points and vaccinators have been identified for the Covid-19 vaccination, a complete database of vaccinators and the healthcare workers to be vaccinated has been prepared.
Managing Director of National Health Mission (NHM) Shalini Pandit said the vaccination points and potential vaccinators in all districts have been mapped.
"District-level micro-level planning has been done. Right now we do not know the shape of the vaccine and the doses. Once the national protocol is prepared, we can get to know how to distribute the vaccine. Since we have been handling at least 10 routine vaccines though the existing cold chain, we hope there should not be any problem," she said.
Normally vaccines in a pandemic like this are given in phases and if the protocol is maintained this time too, the existing system can be able to manage the entire process. "But we are going for capacity augmentation keeping the dynamic situation in mind. We never know we may get a number of vaccines in lakhs and to meet the challenges we have to keep the cold chain ready," she said.
For capacity augmentation, the State requires 936 small ice lined refrigerators (ILRs), 70 large ILRs, 30 large deep freezers, 7331 needle cum hub cutter, 506 sharp pits, 1473 data loggers, two walk in coolers and two 15 KVA generators.
"We also need 10 crore syringes if the Centre does not provide it along with vaccine. We are in the process of procuring the equipment for which the Union Health Ministry has been urged to provide financial assistance of Rs 33.48 crore," Additional Chief Secretary of Health department PK Mohapatra said.
In the first phase, 3,17,692 healthcare workers (HCWs), associated with 3989 health facilities, will be vaccinated. The HCWs included doctors, paramedics and Anganwadi workers. A database of 8267 vaccinators involved in routine immunisation programme has been prepared and 29,276 session sites identified.