The first installment of the plan of action for delivering COVID-19 vaccine in the country has been finally released by the Union Health Ministry. Expectedly, in terms of priority, healthcare and frontline workers and those in priority age groups are going to receive the first shots. Even though the guidelines are exhaustive containing intricate details of dos and don’ts for all concerned stakeholders, the aspect that will attract special attention is the emphasis on digital means of almost the entire vaccine delivery process. While the intention no doubt has great long-term benefits for the country’s overall public health scenario, for states like Arunachal Pradesh and those with limited digital penetration, on-ground implementation hiccups can never be ruled out.

The plan titled ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout’ says Phase-I will cover approximately 30 crore of the country’s current total population comprising 1 crore healthcare workers (healthcare providers and workers in healthcare settings), 2 crore frontline workers (state police, central police, armed and paramilitary personnel and municipal workers) and approximately 26 crore common citizens falling under the prioritized age group of 50-60 yrs along with those less than 50 yrs and suffering from various comorbidities. Elaborate infra arrangements such as Integrated Vaccine Supply Chain Management System with around 28,500 cold chain points, 23,000 temperature loggers and 28,000 eVIN users and usage  of latest electoral roll to identify priority population age groups are all ready to be part of the mammoth exercise. Apart from all the above, all prospective beneficiaries will have to compulsorily register themselves only through online mode for getting vaccinated, either via Co-WIN dashboard (access from computers/laptops) or through smartphones by downloading the Co-WIN app and there is no provision for on-the-spot registrations. It’s doubtless that for making the complicated and extensive vaccination process which will presumably cover no less than 70 % of the country’s population spread over a number of required phases glitch-free through real-time monitoring of the delivery process and recording data of a huge size, there is no alternative but to embrace the digital mode. But even if it’s appreciable, from Arunachal’s point of view there is room to raise the point that the only-online/app registration methodology may not be yielding the desired result since the digital scenario here, both in terms of quality and outreach is far less vis-à-vis the desired level that would ensure a smooth execution of the plan. And the problem will be felt more by the far-flung districts.

Health authorities of the state must be aware of this bottleneck and the Central counterparts need to be apprised accordingly. If the declared goal is to protect all citizens of the country from coronavirus, there must be room for flexibility of rules. Blanket applicability of the digital initiative might prove counterproductive.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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