India, third highest country in terms of total cases has formed an expert committee comprising representatives from ministries and institutions to oversee aspects of its COVID-19 vaccine plan, from identification of the vaccine to financing the purchase to distribution and administration.
The panel is likely to be led by Niti Aayog’s Dr VK Paul and co-chaired by health secretary Rajesh Bhushan. The high-level panel, formed by the cabinet secretary, includes AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, representatives of the ministries of external affairs, biotechnology, the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The authorities are keeping a vigilance over the development of at least nine vaccines, including at least two Chinese ones, and hoping that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, being made in India by the Adar Poonawalla-led Serum Institute of India, works. Six of the vaccines are in Stage 2-3 of testing.
“The internal discussions have started so that we are fully prepared, and to avoid any last-moment glitches. One of the key issues is distribution in remote areas such as North East India and how we have to set up large-scale cold storage facilities in such areas,” added the government official.
Though distribution and logistics is a second-generation problem. India first needs to identify a vaccine and procure enough doses, sufficient for its 125 crore population.
Dr. Sanjay Chatterjee of Calcutta Medical College said, “It’s good that centre has formed such a committee in advance to sort out logistical and related issues in a huge and populous country such as India. But as (with regard to) many things including the final status of the vaccines in the race, some key decisions can be only taken at a later stage.”
“India’s resolve to rapidly increase the number of tests done per day has resulted in a successful march towards 10 lakh/day testing capacity with 6,64,949 tests conducted in the last 24 hours,” a government release said.
