The transportation of Coronavirus vaccines might begin today or tomorrow, news agency ANI quoted government sources as saying.
The Central Government has allowed passenger aircraft to transport the COVID-19 vaccines.
As many as 41 destinations across India have been finalised for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. Pune will be the central hub from where the vaccine distribution will take place. The national capital and Karnal will be made mini hubs for delivery of Coronavirus vaccines in northern India. For the eastern region, Kolkata will be the hub and will also be a nodal point for the northeast. Meanwhile, Chennai and Hyderabad will be the designated points for Southern India.
The development comes ahead of the COVID-19 vaccine dry run across all states on January 8.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan met the health ministers of states and Union Territories on Thursday.
During the meeting, Harsh Vardhan said that Coronavirus vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin — are on the verge of being available in the country. He added by saying that our efforts are to ensure seamless last-mile delivery of the vaccine.
He also said that some priority groups have been decided for the COVID-19 vaccination as advised by the experts’ group.
India is all set to conduct the second dry run tomorrow, days after conducting the first dry run of Coronavirus vaccinations on January 2. Around 1.7 lakh vaccinators and 3 lakh vaccination team members have been trained on the process to be followed at the vaccination sites.
The dummy drive will be conducted in all districts in the country, except for Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as UP has already begun with dry runs on January 5 and Haryana is conducting it in all its districts today.
The Centre has been preparing for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout since the last several months.