New Delhi: Ahead of a Covid-19 vaccine dry run on 8 January in all districts of the country, some states have demanded that elected public representatives, right from the level of panchayat members to MLAs and MPs, be included in the definition of frontline workers who are a priority group for receiving the vaccine.
Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey said Thursday given the nature of the job of elected representatives, it is important that all of them — from panchayat members to MPs — be included in the list along with civil servants.
Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Dash made a similar demand for panchayat members, sarpanchs and MLAs, who he said have fought a “valiant battle” to control the pandemic. In Rajasthan, Health Minister Raghu Sharma expressed his state’s concerns over the war of words between the two vaccine companies and said this could lead to vaccine hesitancy.
“Vaccine manufacturers are calling each other’s vaccines as water. This should stop because this affects public sentiment. Such statements need to be countered immediately and effectively so that such messages do not percolate,” Sharma said.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain, who is a recovered Covid patient, called for the UK flight ban to be extended till 31 January, and that Delhi be given vaccines on priority.
The ministers were speaking at a meeting of health ministers called by the Centre to brief states about the dry run. The exercise is to be carried out in three kinds of sites in every district in the country where 25 beneficiaries will go through the experience of vaccination without the actual vaccines being used. The three categories of sites that will need to be covered are a district hospital, a private facility and urban or rural outreach sites.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb, who also holds the health portfolio, was represented by the state’s health secretary at the meeting.
Also see: Waiting room, cold storage facilities — photos of Covid vaccine dry run in Delhi
‘Must tackle both vaccine hesitancy & eagerness’
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said in his address while the overall Covid-19 situation is satisfactory, three states — Kerala, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh — have shown a sudden surge in cases, which is a cause for concern.
The mantra of the vaccine communication strategy is to prepare vaccine confidence, Additional Secretary Manohar Agnani said in his presentation. He also highlighted the need to tackle “vaccine eagerness” in the right spirit by explaining how and why priority groups have been chosen. Till January, 678.62 lakh health workers have been registered for receiving the vaccines on priority.
Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu wanted to know how many doses of the vaccine will be available and what would be the schedule of delivery. He also emphasised the importance of the vaccine being free of cost.
Kerala’s K.K. Shailaja said the state was trying to slow down the peak and would do more to reduce the mortality rate from the current 0.4 per cent. She also asked for a template for registering the elderly and those with comorbidities.
“We have a bigger share of people with comorbidities. We hope we will get the proper share of vaccines,” she said at the meeting.
The Rajasthan health minister also asked the central government for a timeline on when the vaccines would become available.
“The question everyone is asking is when will the vaccine come, and we cannot reply.” The Union health minister assured him of an answer soon.
Bihar minister Pandey suggested that all civil servants, from state secretariats to district administrations, and all elected representatives be included in the list of frontline workers.
Also, Karnataka Health Minister Dr Sudhakar pointed out that there is as yet no clarity in the vaccination guidelines on the gap a Covid recovered person would need before receiving the vaccine.
Also read: Who’s responsible if vaccines go wrong? Pharma companies or govts? There are no easy answers