India initiates deliberation to prepare a roadmap for procurement, financing, storage of COVID-19 Vaccine

Hoping that COVID-19 vaccine is a few months away, India initiated a process for preparing a longterm strategy for procurement of COVID-19 vaccine, availability of financial resources, its storage in Cold storage chains, guidelines for its transportation.

The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19, chaired by Dr V K Paul, Member Niti Aayog along with Secretarymet as co-chair, met for the first time on Augst 12 and deliberated on conceptualization and implementation mechanisms for the creation of digital infrastructure.

They further discussed various other issues including inventory management and delivery mechanism of the vaccine including tracking of vaccination process with particular focus on last-mile delivery.

The experts also focussed on broad parameters guiding the selection of COVID-19 vaccine candidates for the country and sought inputs from Standing Technical Sub-Committee of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).

The group delved on the procurement mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccine, including both indigenous and international manufacturing along with guiding principles for prioritization of population groups for vaccination.

The expert group further discussed the financial resources required for procurement of COVID-19 vaccine and various options of financing the same. Available options in terms of delivery platforms, cold chain and associated infrastructure for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination were also taken up.

The strategy and follow-up action on all possible scenarios to ensure equitable and transparent delivery of vaccine was deliberated upon. Issues related to vaccine safety and surveillance were taken up and strategy for community involvement through transparent information and awareness creation were discussed.

India’s support to its key neighbours and development partner countries for COVID-19 vaccines was deliberated upon. The expert group discussed that India will leverage domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity and will also engage with all international players for early delivery of vaccines not only in India but also in low and middle-income countries.

The Committee also advised all the States not to chart separate pathways of procurement.