The country crossed a record 200 crore Covid-19 vaccinations on 17 July 2022 within barely 18 months of launching this exercise on 16 January last year
On 15 July 2022, the Modi government launched a 75-day-long “Covid-19 Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav” to provide free precaution dose to all eligible adults at government-run Covid-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs). This special drive, part of the celebration for “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, is being implemented on a “mission mode” to increase uptake of precaution dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
India laid out a well-organised communication strategy of providing correct information and customised guidelines on Covid-19 vaccination, at regular intervals. This helped address vaccine hesitancy and promoted vaccine eagerness and Covid-appropriate behaviour among the masses.
The country crossed a record 200 crore Covid-19 vaccinations on 17 July 2022 within barely 18 months of launching this exercise on 16 January last year. It took almost 9 months to reach the 100 crore mark and another 9 months to reach the 200 crore vaccination mark, with the highest single day vaccination record of over 2.5 crore doses achieved on 17 September 2021. The 200 crore mark is a stellar example of how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s courage of conviction helped India achieve both the world’s largest and also the world’s fastest vaccination drive, despite relentless criticism from the Opposition. A seven-phase vaccination drive was followed by the Modi government on the principle of “Prioritisation for Vaccine Administration”, based on scientific advice and global best practices.
Under Modi’s leadership, India supported the research, development and manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines under the “Make-in-India” and “Make-for-World” strategy, embarking on the use of cutting-edge technologies like CoWIN for evaluating geographical coverage, tracking AEFI for vaccines, promoting inclusivity and for providing a single reference point for citizens to follow their vaccination schedule. Several systematic interventions were also carried out in ensuring capacity building for carrying out this nationwide exercise.
Existing supply chain for storage and transport of Covid-19 vaccines were leveraged and strengthened and effective monitoring of vaccine distribution and assured availability and efficient utilisation of vaccines and syringes were ensured at all times. India’s free and voluntary nationwide Covid-19 vaccination exercise is also being carried out in a citizen friendly approach through initiatives like Har Ghar Dastak, Workplace CVC, school based vaccination, vaccination of persons with no identity documents, Near-to-Home CVC and Mobile Vaccination Teams. With 71 percent of CVCs located in rural areas and over 51 percent of vaccine doses administered to women, India’s Covid-9 vaccination programme also ensured geographical and gender equity.
India has since long surpassed entire Europe where the vaccination numbers stand at about 130 crore. India has not only administered 200 crore doses to its citizens but also exported over 23 crore vaccine doses to over 98 countries and still has nearly 10 crore doses in stock, implying that the country produced nearly 233 crore vaccine doses in the last 18 months, which is a remarkable achievement. Nearly 160 crore doses of Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), 33.5 crore doses of Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech and 6.5 crore doses of Corbevax, manufactured by Biological E, have been administered to adults and children and also as precaution doses.
India’s accomplishment in developing not one but multiple vaccines for Covid-19 can be credited to several systemic interventions taken at the leadership level.
India had crossed the 100 crore vaccination mark on 21 October 2021, nine months after the PM had kicked off the vaccination drive on 16 January, 2021. India had reached the 150 crore vaccination mark on January 7 this year and 175 crore mark on 19 February this year.
The record of 200 crore, has been achieved through increased frequency of vaccine supplies with reduced quantity of vaccines in each tranche to minimise vaccine stock in pipeline and daily assessment of vaccination performance in each State and UT and its comparison with the available stocks, to identify the next delivery timeline for that State and UT. India has also managed to minimise wastage through regular reviews and has followed the mantra of “efficient utilisation of each dose of vaccine”. Around 213.5 crore vaccine syringes were mobilised for the vaccination programme and amidst a global scarcity of syringes, existing 1ml and 2ml syringes were marked with 0.5ml, to be utilised for Covid-19 vaccination. Special training of vaccinators was conducted for efficient utilization of 1ml, 2ml and 3ml syringes. India tailored its vaccine distribution based on real-time monitoring of demand and supply, regular review of production capacity of vaccine manufacturers and steady release of regulatory approvals for release of manufactured batches.
Over 2.6 lakh vaccinators and over 4.7 lakh vaccination team members carried out the exercise at more than 4.7 lakh government facilities and 22,000 private facilities. A close collaboration was done between the ministries of Health and Civil Aviation, state governments and vaccine manufacturers, for delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to over 60 consignee points across the country, within three days of it leaving the factory.
A real-time temperature monitoring and stock visibility across all the stores through Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) was done to leverage the existing robust immunization supply chain. More than 29,000 last mile cold chain points (CCPs) were used in addition to 26,000 Ice Lined Refrigerators (ILFs) and deep freezers made available in 2020-21.India accounts for nearly 17.5 percent of the world population, including 949 million adults and hence vaccinating all of them in a voluntary drive was a humongous task.
And yet, under Prime Minister Modi, India showed to the world how it is done. India acted early in its response mechanism to the pandemic in forming a high-level task force for Covid-19 vaccine as early as 19 April 2020 and approving Covishield and Covaxin for restricted emergency use on 1-2 January, respectively, in 2021. The production capacity was ramped up through facility augmentation, technology transfer, financial assistance and advance payments to vaccine manufacturers.
India adopted the mantra of a seven-phase vaccination drive following “prioritisation of vaccine administration” based on scientific evidence and global best practices. In Phase 1, between January and February 2021, the vaccination drive was first opened up for healthcare workers and front line workers.
In Phase 2, between March and April 2021, vaccination was opened for those aged above 60 and between 45-59 age group. In Phase 3 in May last year, persons above 18 years of age were offered vaccination in the private sector and in Phase 4 in June last year, the vaccination was opened for free for all above 18 years of age. In Phase 5, from January this year, India opened vaccination for adolescents aged 15-18 and then precaution doses were offered for healthcare workers, front line workers and those above the 60 year age group with co-morbidities.
In Phase 6, from this March, vaccination was opened for children between 12 and 14 years of age and precaution doses were opened for all adults above 60 years of age. In the ongoing Phase 7 from April this year, precaution doses have been offered for 18-59 years’ age group as a paid facility in private hospitals, while on 15 July this year, precaution doses were opened for free for all persons above 18 years of age in all government facilities. India, in fact, expects to hit the 250 crore vaccination mark in the next 5-6 months on the back of the precaution dose drive, for all adults started on 15 July.
Another hero of the vaccination drive has been the CoWin portal that has provided a reference point post the first dose for citizens to follow the vaccination schedule and get the second dose. The CoWin portal has also enabled multiple modes of registration in offline walk-ins, online and assisted through help centers and call centers, thereby ensuring access for all.
The portal has also helped the government to evaluate the geographical coverage of the vaccination drive and get a view of each district, at the State level. From “Taali, Thaali, Janata Curfew to Jan Bhagidaari”, PM Modi ran the world’s largest vaccination drive by putting his political and personal credibility to test and needless to say, he emerged unscathed and stronger than ever before.
The Modi government’s CoWIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) app is owned by the Ministry of Health and Family welfare and was earlier the platform used for conducting Pulse Polio and other crucial and highly successful immunization programmes across the country. The same platform was expanded for doling out Covid-19 vaccines and the ministry of Electronics and IT along with the National Informatics Centre are now handling the backend and the tech infrastructure for it. CoWIN, is again an example of how the Modi government has seamlessly embraced technology, to ensure last mile delivery.
Needless to add, in the final analysis, Modi’s “Make in India” model runs high on both the growth and humanitarian quotients whereas Xi’s “Make in China”, lacks the emotional quotient that separates a robotic, authoritarian regime, from an aspirational India, helmed by a “karmayogi” like Modi, who leads by example, never playing on the back-foot and always keeping the nation first, above everything else. Covid-19, which is still unfolding in many parts of the globe, will also be remembered for the global outreach by the Indian political diaspora, which has shown to the world how a responsive and nimble footed government can tackle any emergency, with the right mindset.
In the final analysis, it can be said with no “ifs” and “buts” whatsoever, that the Indian response to the coronavirus pandemic has been awe inspiring at various levels. While the US and Europe are dealing with endless queues of people still lining up at malls and stores that have run out of toilet paper and hand sanitizers, India’s calibrated approach by the government, without causing panic, has had a salubrious impact. Also, don’t forget, while India reported its first case only on 30 January 2020; it had started screening incoming passengers from affected countries, via infrared thermometers, from 7 January 2020 itself.
By 27 October 2021, India had cumulatively administered over 103.53 crore doses, with 77 percent of the population getting the first jab and at least 32 percent of the population getting both the jabs. The CoWIN app played a significant role in the vaccination drive. The day CoWIN became open to registrations for those in the 18-45 year age group, in April 2021, it got hits at the rate of roughly 55,000 per second and the app has never looked back since then.
With over 200 crore Covid doses administered till date, with over 5.64 crore precaution doses given, with over 87 crore Covid tests done, with an active caseload of just 0.33 percent and a solid recovery rate of 98.47 percent, Prime Minister Modi has showcased, in more ways than one, how undeterred, political conviction can make even seemingly challenging tasks, so seamlessly smooth.
The author is an economist, national spokesperson of the BJP and the author of ‘The Modi Gambit’. Views expressed are person
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