The COVID-19 vaccination drive will be opened up for all citizens above the age of 18 from May 1, the Government of India announced on Monday, April 19.
The immunisation drive was currently restricted to only citizens aged above 45 years of age.
“Everyone above the age of 18 to be eligible to get vaccine against COVID-19,” said a statement issued by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The announcement comes after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where it was noted that the “government has been working hard from over a year to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time.”
“India is vaccinating people at world record pace and we will continue this with even greater momentum,” PM Modi said.
In the phase 3, the government pointed out that pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of vaccines are being made flexible. All stakeholders given the flexibility to customise to local needs.
Here are all the details on Phase 3 of Covid-19 vaccination drive in India:
* Under the third phase of the vaccination drive commencing from May 1, the vaccine manufacturers would supply 50% of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the central government and would be free to supply the remaining 50% doses to state governments and in the open market.
* Manufacturers would have to make an advance declaration of the price for 50% supply that would be available to the state governments and in the open market before May 1, 2021.
* Based on this price, state governments, private hospitals, industrial establishments, etc would be able to procure vaccine doses from the manufacturers.
* Private Hospitals would have to procure their supplies of COVID-19 vaccine exclusively from the 50% supply earmarked for entities other than those coming through the central government channel.
* Private vaccination providers would need to transparently declare their self-set vaccination price and the eligibility through this channel would be opened up to all adults, that is everyone above the age of 18.
* Vaccination will continue as before in the government of India vaccination centres free of cost to the eligible population – healthcare and frontline workers and all people above 45 years of age.
* Govt of India, from its share, will allocate vaccines to States/UTs based on the criteria of extent of infection (number of active Covid cases) & performance (speed of administration). Wastage of vaccine will also be considered in this criteria and will affect the criteria negatively. Based on the above criteria, State-wise quota would be decided and communicated to the States adequately in advance.
* Second dose of all existing priority groups i.e. HCWs, FLWs and population above 45 years, wherever it has become due, would be given priority, for which a specific and focused strategy would be communicated to all stakeholders.
The country’s vaccination drive against novel coronavirus infection started on 16 January, 2021 with two Covid-19 vaccine candidates approved by the country’s drug controller.
Currently, three vaccine candidates have been given Emergency Use Authorisation: two indigenously manufactured vaccines (Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech), and a third vaccine (Sputnik V) that while presently manufactured abroad will eventually be manufactured in India.
“India’s approach has been built on scientific and epidemiological pillars, guided by Global Best Practices, SoPs of WHO as well as our India’s foremost experts in the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC),” an official statement said.
“India has been following a dynamic mapping model based on availability of vaccines & coverage of vulnerable priority groups to take decisions of when to open up vaccinations to other age-groups. A good amount of coverage of vulnerable groups is expected by 30th April,” it added.
Phase-I of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy was launched on 16th January 2021, prioritizing protection for our protectors, our Health Care Workers (HCWs) and Front Line Workers (FLWs). As systems and processes stabilized, Phase-II was initiated from 1st March 2021, focusing on protecting our most vulnerable i.e. all people above 45 years of age, accounting for more than 80% Covid mortality in the country. The private sector was also roped in to augment capacity.
In its Phase-III, the National Vaccine Strategy aims at liberalised vaccine pricing and scaling up of vaccine coverage. This would augment vaccine production as well as availability, incentivising vaccine manufacturers to rapidly ramp up their production as well as attract new vaccine manufacturers, domestic and international. It would also make pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of vaccines open and flexible, allowing all stakeholders the flexibility to customise to local needs and dynamics.
A per PM Modi’s directions, Government of India has proactively engaged and coordinated with stakeholders across the spectrum, from research institutes to national and international manufacturers, global regulators etc. The strength of India’s private sector vaccine manufacturing capability has been strategically empowered through unprecedented decisive steps, from facilitating public-private collaborative research, trials and product development, to targeted public grants and far-reaching governance reforms in India’s regulatory system. Government of According to PM Modi’s instructions, India is in regular touch with each manufacturer, including having sent multiple inter-ministerial teams on site, to understand each one’s requirements and provide proactive and customized support in the form of grants, advance payments, more sites for production, etc to ramp up vaccine production,” the statement further said.
“Government of India has roped in the private sector in the vaccination drive right from the beginning. Now, as capabilities and processes have stabilized, the public as well as private sector has the experience and confidence to rapidly scale up,” it added.
Also Read | COVID-19 In India: Over 2.73 Lakh New Cases, 1,619 Deaths Reported In Last 24 Hours