Dry run for COVID-19 vaccination conducted in J-K's Srinagar

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], January 3 (ANI): A dry run for COVID-19 vaccine administration was conducted at Urban Health Training Centre, Srinagar on Saturday. A total of 25 beneficiaries selected from Co-WIN platform participated during the mock drive.
According to Union Health Ministry, the objective of the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine introduction is to assess operational feasibility in the use of COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) application in the field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guide the way forward prior to actual implementation. This is also expected to give confidence to program managers at various levels, it said.
Dr Qazi Haroon, State Immunisation Officer, Jammu and Kashmir said that three rooms have been set up at the vaccination centres which will be used during COVID-19 vaccination drive.
"As part of the nationwide dry run for COVID-19 vaccine, we choose three districts--Srinagar, Jammu and Kulgam in Jammu and Kashmir for the same. We are doing this to avoid loopholes when the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available for use. We are using Co-WIN platform to know the details of beneficiaries. We are getting ready to execute the implementation of the vaccination drive when it actually starts. People are being trained for inoculation procedures," Dr Haroon told ANI.
"We have asked 25 beneficiaries to participate in this mock drive. During the mock drive, the beneficiary is asked to sit in the waiting room, where we check his/her details, then we send them to vaccination room, where vaccination shot is given and then they are asked to sit in the observation room for 30 minutes mandatory so that untoward conditions can be avoided," he added.

The beneficiaries who took part in the drive said that they are eagerly waiting for actual COVID-19 vaccine.
"I am feeling happy to be part of this drive. We are hopeful that the vaccine will come soon and we will be saved from COVID-19. We want to get rid of this disease. I am one of the 25 beneficiaries who is part of this drive," Dr Shabnam, one of the beneficiary said.
Another beneficiary Mukhtar Ahmed Mir said," We came here to take part in this dry run. We are happy and we are eager for the vaccine. It is a smooth process."
Dr Mahnoor Qadri, Srinagar district vaccine and cold chain Manager from United Nation Development Programme said that the drive was aimed at gearing up for the actual COVID-19 vaccination drive.
"It is a kind of practise wherein we are gearing up before the actual COVID-19 vaccination drive. We are following all the SOPs given by Union Health Ministry. In this, we are preparing staff and beneficiaries to be prepared for actual COVID-19 vaccination drive. We are using Co-WIN platform, which will have all the details like allocation of vaccine, beneficiaries name and other details," she said.
Dr Samir Mattoo, Director of Health Services Kashmir said, "We are fully prepared and we are seeing the demonstration for the actual covid vaccination drive. We will remove the shortcomings if any arise during this mock drive."
The Union Health Ministry is carrying out pan-India COVID-19 vaccine dry run.
The first round of the dry run was conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Punjab on December 28-29, 2020 in two districts each where five-session sites with 25 beneficiaries each were identified. (ANI)