State-run carrier Air India will ferry the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine to Delhi from Pune as the government ropes in Indian Air Force (IAF) and commercial airlines for the delivery of vaccines in the country.
The Air India flight (AI 850) will deliver the vaccine in Delhi around 9 PM, The Economic Times reported, citing government sources. However, there is no clarity regarding the number of vaccines that will be delivered on this first flight.
Air India may be used to transport vaccines across the country in the first phase, says the daily. In the first phase, the government has planned to vaccinate about as many as one crore healthcare workers, two crore frontline and essential workers, and 27 crore elderly, most above the age of 50 years with co-morbidities.
Delhi is all geared up for the inoculation drive, and will conduct its second dry run today. The first dry-run was held on January 2.
A total of 1,000 vaccination centres will be set up at various locations in Delhi, about 600 of which will be set up in the first phase. At every vaccination centre, there will be multiple booths, each to take a maximum of 100 people. There will be a nodal officer at each vaccination centre.
The Delhi health minister has said the government is fully prepared to receive, store, and administer COVID-19 vaccine to 51 lakh priority category persons in the first phase. Three lakh healthcare workers and nearly six lakh frontline workers will be vaccinated initially.
The COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network or Co-WIN app will be used to manage the vaccination drive. Everything will be fed to the database in real-time. After vaccination, each person will be kept under observation to check any adverse events.
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