Center calls on states to form COVID-19 vaccination campaign coordination and oversight committees
New Delhi:
The Center called on states to form COVID-19 vaccination campaign coordination and oversight committees while ensuring minimal disruption to other routine health services, and emphasized early social media monitoring to dispel rumors that could impact community acceptance of coronavirus inoculation.
Stating that the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine will take more than a year and that several groups will be included “sequentially starting with health workers”, the health ministry has called for the establishment of committees at the state and national levels. districts that will review preparatory activities in terms of cold chain preparation. , operational planning, strategies for specific challenges to the State in terms of geographical terrain and difficult to access areas, etc.
In a letter to Union States and Territories, Union Secretary of Health Rajesh Bhushan suggested the establishment of a State Steering Committee (SSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary, a group State Labor Office (STF) headed by an additional chief secretary or principal secretary (health). and a District Task Force (DTF) headed by the district magistrate.
An annex attached to the letter outlines the committees’ mandates that the State Steering Committee will ensure the active participation of all relevant departments and develop innovative strategies to enhance community engagement (“ Jan Bhagidaari ”) for a better coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine once it is available.
“Ensure early follow-up on social media and other platforms for possible false information and rumors around the COVID-19 vaccine that could have an impact on the acceptance of the vaccine by the community,” he said. declared.
The State steering committee will also have to set up a reward / recognition mechanism for the realization of the district / block / urban district, etc.
“The introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine will last over a year, with several groups being included sequentially from healthcare workers. Therefore, it is important to create a strong advisory and coordination mechanism at the state and district level to guide the process of introducing the COVID-19 vaccine while ensuring minimal disruption to other health care services. routine, including vaccination, ”the letter published on October 26 reads.
Activities to be carried out by the state task force include providing guidance, including funding and operational guidance, setting deadlines for districts to plan and implement the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine whenever a vaccine is made available and the identification of vaccinators in the government and private sectors to minimize disruption to routine immunization services.
Activities also include planning and mapping of immunization sessions during which health workers will be immunized during the 1st phase and mapping of human resources in departments that could be deployed for immunization sessions for beneficiary verification. , crowd management and general coordination at the session site and state working group. will also monitor the districts to meet deadlines for the overall implementation of the vaccine introduction.
The district working group will monitor the progress of the COVID-19 vaccination beneficiary database, train all relevant HR on the COVID-19 vaccination beneficiary management system (CVBMS), monitor progress of key activities such as micro-planning, communication planning, cold chain and vaccine logistics planning. Responsibility to be set for each activity at all levels.
The district working group will develop strong communication planning at all levels to ‘fight rumors as well as vaccination rush’, will monitor blocks and urban areas to meet deadlines for various required activities. for the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to ensuring timely disbursement. funding at all levels; and sharing state level feedback for review.
The terms of reference state that the state steering committee should meet at least once a month, the state task force once every fortnight, and the district task force once a week.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
