E-Paper
Database of frontline workers to get Covid-19 vaccine on priority soon in Tamil Nadu
Two of the four vaccine candidates in India are being tested in Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to have a virtual meeting with chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami among other state leaders on Tuesday to discuss a distribution strategy for the vaccine.
With the need for a Covid-19 vaccine gaining new urgency, public health experts in Tamil Nadu want to be ready and begin vaccination as soon as it is available. The state is creating a database of its frontline healthcare workers and has formed two committees to prepare for the distribution of a vaccine once it is rolled out.
Two of the four vaccine candidates in India are being tested in Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to have a virtual meeting with chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami among other state leaders on Tuesday to discuss a distribution strategy for the vaccine.
The process of enlisting medical institutions-- 2,800 government ones and 35,000 private ones -- which includes hospitals and medical colleges, began in September. The directorate of public health (DPH) gave the institutions a template to identify the healthcare workers who could be doctors, nurses, lab technicians and paramedics. The institutions are in the process of preparing the line list which will be collated at the district-level and sent to DPH’s head office in Chennai.
“Once a common portal by the Government of India is ready, we will upload our database,” said Dr T S Selvavinayagam, director of DPH and the principal investigator for vaccine trials in Tamil Nadu. DPH will also issue an identity number for every individual who would get the vaccine on priority to protect against the novel coronavirus.
Three committees were formed a couple of days ago to plan for distribution of vaccine on priority basis and oversee logistical requirements including supply chain. One is the state health task force led by health secretary J Radhakrishnan to oversee daily functions, a state steering committee headed by chief secretary K Shanmugam and a district task force headed by the district magistrate. A government order to form these committees was issued on November 11 and they were subsequently formed.
Human clinical trials for Covishield and Covaxin vaccinations are being conducted in the state. The second phase of Covishield is nearing completion. It is developed by Oxford University/Astra Zeneca and is being produced in a Pune laboratory. “So far there have been no adverse reactions or events in candidates in the first and second doses that were given,” said Selvavinayagam. Trials for the indigenous Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, are set to begin soon in Tamil Nadu.
In October, chief minister Palaniswami announced that the state would provide free vaccinations for all. Palaniswami is the chief minister candidate for AIADMK in the assembly polls slated for early 2021. AIADMK’s ally, the BJP had promised free vaccinations in their 2020 assembly election manifesto for Bihar. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance retained power in the eastern state.
