dry run

Delhi, Jan 02: All states and Union Territories have conducted a dry run for Coronavirus vaccination to test the linkages between planning and implementation on Saturday to ensure that phase 1 of the vaccination drive against the Covid-19 infection goes glitch-free.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday visited Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Delhi to review the COVID-19 vaccination dry run drill.

The Union Health Ministry said Maharashtra and Kerala are likely to schedule in major cities other than their capital but some states will include districts that are situated in difficult terrain/have poor logistical support.

Harsh Vardhan said the government’s priority is to ensure the safety and efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine.

“I appeal to people not to pay heed to the rumours. Ensuring the safety and efficacy of vaccines is our priority. Different kinds of rumours were spread during polio immunisation but people took the vaccine and India is now polio-free,” he said.

Speaking to media, a civil surgeon said, “Data of healthcare workers from Maharashtra have been uploaded on CoWIN.”

The first round was conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, and Punjab on 28-29 December in two districts each where five-session sites with 25 beneficiaries each were identified.

What is a dry run?

It is essentially a practice session where a sample number of beneficiaries will go through a mock immunisation process. Apart from the staff of the designated vaccination centres, the dry run will see the participation of a select group of healthcare workers as test vaccine beneficiaries. Each centre will identify 25 test beneficiaries for the dry run.

It is being conducted across all states and UTs. Each state and UT has been asked to conduct the dry run at minimum three-session sites in their capitals.