UN agencies help India roll out massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign

“We are providing technical support to the government in the planning of the operation, as well as training materials for regional program managers and vaccinators. We are also helping to monitor the progress of the campaign,” said World Health Organization (WHO) India Representative Roderico Ofrin.

According to the local press, at the first stage it is planned to vaccinate 10 million medical workers, then - employees of emergency response services: police and other law enforcement officers, as well as municipal employees. 30 million people plan to be vaccinated by early August.

The relevant authorities in India, with the support of WHO, began to prepare ahead of time for the campaign: during the special exercises, all parts of the complex process were worked out - registration, immunization, registration and interaction with patients after receiving the vaccine.

According to Dr. Ofrin, staff from the United Nations Development Program in India also took part in the exercise, together with government representatives, they urgently resolved emerging issues. Specialists from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) helped to reach out to the community and raise awareness among local residents, as well as participated in the training of medical staff and provided psychological support to children and parents. At the same time, UN agencies continued to implement projects in the country to assist vulnerable groups affected by the pandemic and the socio-economic consequences of the crisis.

For example, the World Food Program supported the efforts of local NGOs to register 19,000 families in the most deplorable situation, and the United Nations Population Fund provided courses for 30 million people on reproductive health, as well as on the prevention of gender-based violence.

Despite the start of the vaccination campaign, the WHO urged the authorities and people of India to continue to take all precautions to stop the spread of the virus. In particular, Dr. Ofrin recommended continuing to identify and isolate those infected and the people they came into contact with, as well as to study cases of outbreaks of the disease and take targeted measures to eliminate these foci. He also reminded about the need to wash hands, wear masks and keep a distance when communicating with others.