Taskforce for vaccine distribution to meet tomorrow, says health ministry

The panel will pick the vaccine or vaccines that India can use, plan the finances for what is sure to be an expensive purchase running into billions of dollars, and prioritise the sequence of administration.

The expert committee on vaccine administration, chaired by NITI Aayog’s Dr VK Paul, will meet on Wednesday to consider “logistics and ethical aspects” of procurement and administration of vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which has affected more than 2.2 million people and killed over 44,000 in the country, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.

The expert committee on vaccine administration will meet on Wednesday, according to the Union health ministry. (Reuters/For Representative Purposes Only)

The committee will engage with stakeholders including state governments and vaccine manufacturers, the health ministry added.

The government had formed the expert committee comprising representatives from all relevant ministries and institutions to oversee all aspects of its Covid-19 vaccine plan. It has been tasked with the identification of the vaccine to buying to financing the purchase to distribution and administration.

The panel will pick the vaccine or vaccines that India can use, plan the finances for what is sure to be an expensive purchase running into billions of dollars, and prioritise the sequence of administration.

The high-level panel, formed by the cabinet secretary last Friday, includes AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, representatives of the ministries of external affairs, biotechnology, information technology, the director general of health services, India’s Aids Research Institute, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and also representatives from states.

There are 634,945 active cases and 44,386 people have died of the viral disease so far, the health ministry said.