New Delhi: Perturbed by the sluggish pace of Covid-19 vaccination, the Union Health Ministry Wednesday advised the states to review the status and progress in vaccine procurement by PCVCs on a daily basis.
This was revealed at a review meeting on the immunisation programme wherein the ministry took stock of the vaccine procurement and administration by Private Covid Vaccination Centres (PCVCs) in Odisha and 14 other states.
Union Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting with the Health secretaries and senior immunisation officials of Odisha and other states on the issue. The Union Health secretary informed the states about the usage of CoWin platform as the back-end management tool for order placements.
During the review meeting, roles of the states/UTs for demand aggregation and roles of Covid vaccine manufacturers in quick dispatch were further outlined, the ministry said.
Underlining the tardy pace of vaccination through the PCVCs, the Union Health secretary advised the states to review the status and progress in vaccine procurement by PCVCs on a daily basis.
States were also advised to ensure speedy and effective coordination between the PCVCs and the vaccine manufacturers to remove bottlenecks, if any. It was pointed out that advance visibility of Covid-19 vaccines to the states by the Union Health Ministry was in turn required to be communicated to the citizens by the states.
“Many PCVCs have not placed any indent for the earmarked quantum of Covid vaccines. Many state governments need to facilitate the vaccine procurement by the PCVCs. States were advised to review the status on a daily basis and ensure that indents for the earmarked quantum are quickly placed with the private vaccine manufacturers,” the Health Ministry said.
The Union Health Ministry has organised five regional workshops to orient nodal officers of the states and PCVCs for placing indent on CoWin, payment for the quantum of doses among others. The Health secretary further advised the states to indicate if any refresher training sessions are required.