COVID-19 vaccine will be provided to 1 crore healthcare, 2 crores frontline workers on priority: Health Minister
New Delhi, January 2, 2021: Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Saturday stated that the COVID-19 vaccine will be provided on priority across the nation to 1 crore health workers and 2 crore frontline workers.
The minister made the statement while talking to the media after reviewing the dry run of administering the COVID-19 vaccine at the Maternity & Child Welfare (MCW) Centre in Daryaganj.
Vardhan also reviewed the dry run of administering the COVID-19 vaccine at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital in Delhi today.
In Delhi, the drive is being conducted at three locations -- the Daryaganj primary health center, the government-run Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, and the private Venkateshwara hospital, he added.
Except for giving the actual vaccine, every procedure is being followed during the drill, Vardhan further said. The dry run will be conducted by all the states and Union Territories from Saturday. Vaccination drill is being conducted in all states/UTs today in 116 districts across 259 sites.
According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), the objective of the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine introduction is to "assess operational feasibility in the use of COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) application in a field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guide the way forward before actual implementation".(ANI)