Delhi is prepared for the vaccination programme, while State Immunization Officer Suresh Seth said on Thursday that it would take one month to cover the entire city’s population if hospital staff and nurses are involved.
"We have 600 cold storage points and around 1,800 outreach sites for the universal immunization programme for children. We have sufficient equipment for vaccines that can be stored at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and those that need minus 15 to minus 25 degrees Celsius. The central government is further strengthening the infrastructure and providing more equipment," said Mr Seth.
Mr Seth said the equipment and infrastructure for vaccines that need ultra-cold conditions (minus 70 degrees Celsius) are not there, but there won’t be any logistic problem as the immunisation programme will be done in a phased manner.
Presently, Delhi government is collecting data of healthcare workers who are at top of the priority list for vaccination, said Mr Seth adding, "If a vaccine is available, we can administer it to all healthcare workers in just three days. We have sufficient equipment and cold storage space, we are geared up. We won't let Delhi falter.”
On the contrary, Dr Ajit Jain, the nodal officer for COVID-19 at Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty hospital, said, the national capital has adequate infrastructure and equipment to vaccinate the entire city’s population. "Being the national capital, it has got the equipment and capacity. All we need is trained manpower to carry out the immunization programme effectively."
AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria had said recently, that India needs a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius to store most of the vaccines and the lowest minimum temperature required for storing the vaccine in most areas in the country is minus 25 degrees Celsius.
NK Ganguly, retired Director-General of ICMR, stated that the country has "enough infrastructure" for storing a Covid-19 vaccine at a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius adding that there is a sufficient number of refrigerated vans to transport the vaccine from one location to another.
Mr Ganguly said, "There is only one vaccine in India - the Rotavirus vaccine from Bharat Biotech - that needs to be stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius. The company has made arrangements for its storage and transport. We don't have the equipment and infrastructure for anything that needs to be stored below this temperature.”
He further added that Pfizer vaccine candidate is not a reasonable one for low-income countries like India as it is rated at USD 1,500 and we need a vaccine that could cost people below ₹ 500.
Last week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that there should not be any such "VIP or non-VIP categories" for vaccinating people against coronavirus as everyone’s life is important and first priority must be given to "corona warriors", vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, and those having comorbidities.
Kejriwal also pointed out that the vaccination programme is likely to be constituted by the central government.