India needs vibrant communication strategy for next phase of COVID-19 vaccination

Updated : February 27, 2021 04:36 PM IST

As the country sees a new spike in COVID cases in some states, there is an urgent need to bolster the vaccination drive and map new communication strategies to remove the fears regarding the vaccine.

The resurgence of COVID-19 in several states, primarily in Maharashtra has become a cause of concern.

The government has announced that From March 1, people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities will be vaccinated at 10,000 govt and over 20,000 private vaccination centres. The vaccine will be given free of cost at govt centres.

The widening of the vaccination ambit to the private hospitals for the next phase is a much needed step.

The countrywide inoculation drive was rolled out on January 16 and vaccination of the front-line workers (FLW) started from February 2. In the first phase the health workers (HW) were administered the vaccine.

Currently two vaccines--- Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech have been granted permission for restricted use in emergency situation by the national regulator - Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). This requires completion of two-dose schedule at an interval of 28 days to complete the vaccination process. It takes around 14 days after second dose to develop immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The government bulletin on corona vaccine says that five states had recorded the highest number of vaccinations including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar.

After covering the health workers and the frontline workers, the government is now bracing itself for the next phase. This will be a daunting task and calls for serious groundwork, adequate training and an effective communication strategy.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) system, the digital platform that will be used to track the enlisted beneficiaries for vaccination and COVID-19 vaccines on a real-time basis has to be freed from any glitches. Any kind of technology failure at the app level can demotivate people from being a part of the drive.

Challenging terrain

An estimated 3 crore health care workers and frontline workers were expected to be vaccinated during the initial phase of COVID-19 vaccination drive. The current vaccination numbers however shows that it behind the target, making it even more necessary for the government to spruce efforts in the next phase starting from March 1.

Extending the gap between the two doses, addressing the problems of vaccine hesitancy and fixing the Co-WIN glitches are some of the steps the government should prioritize.

The vaccination drive in India has been dotted with myriad challenges. India has the largest vaccination programme in the world but there has so far, not been any platform for an adult immunisation drive of such a mammoth scale.

The success of a vaccination program of this scale calls for an immense collaboration between the private and public sectors, besides a harmonious working between the central and state governments.

The decision of the government to allow some earmarked hospitals to provide the vaccination at a fixed price will help in increasing the numbers of those vaccinated. But this calls for a smooth and effective implementation.

The private sector can provide the much needed capacity augmentation in the area of supply chain and vaccine administration and there is, therefore, a need for a more vibrant public-private collaboration especially in the area of supply chain and vaccine administration. A proper integration of the private sector health infrastructure to the COVID-19 vaccine delivery system needs to be taken up in a more robust manner.

Wipro founder and philanthropist Aziz Premj has also urged union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to engage the private sector and speed up the country's COVID-19 vaccination effort. He said involving the private sector may help the country cover 50 crore vaccinations in just two months.

Communication canvas

While the developing systems have been refurbished but despite the best logistics, there are several gaps that have to be filled. A major challenge is to disseminate the correct information to the people and make all efforts to erase the fears and apprehensions about the vaccine. The objective should be to build trust and confidence in the vaccination so that more people come forward to take the dose.

Effective communication plays a pivotal role for the success of any drive of such a massive scale. There should be adequate communication materials including brochures, magazines, podcasts, videos and even a door-to-door communication for removing any kind of apprehensions regarding the vaccination.

It is important to train all the stakeholders who will be responsible for the implementation of communication actions in both the urban and rural areas. The communication strategy should essentially seek to disseminate timely, accurate and transparent information to alleviate apprehensions about the vaccine, ensure its acceptance and encourage uptake.

The health infrastructure at different levels has to be boosted for an effective roll out of the vaccines. Training of the workers involved in the drive should be prioritized. The health care workers have to trained more effectively in vaccine management and administering.

A comprehensive plan for a follow up with those vaccinated either with single or both doses should be mapped and any kind of adverse reaction should be reported at the earliest to prevent any fatalities.

The cold chain requirements for these vaccines also needs a well- oiled logistical machinery. Transportation of the vaccines across the length and breadth of the country can be mired with hurdles. India’s present cold chain system has more than 85,000 equipment in about 28,947 cold chain points. Besides temperature, these equipment require mapping of air replenishment, humidity and external pathogen loads. The reach can be widened by special vaccine trains and mobile refrigerated trucks.

Vaccine economy

Till February 8, a total of Rs 960.75 crore have been utilized for procurement of the COVID-19 vaccines. Further Rs 480 crore has been earmarked as operational cost for COVID-19 vaccination drive of which Rs 123.49 crore have been disbursed to States/UTs. This also includes cost for IEC material and awareness activities to be conducted to counter the issues/doubts arising out of the effects of the vaccine and instill confidence in the people.

Under the initiative --Vaccine Maitri-- which translates into Vaccine Friendship, India is also providing vaccines to the world. The supplies under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, which began on January 21, have been earned global recognition.

The road ahead in the next phase, which will include a vast chunk of the population, is not smooth. The government needs to act soon if it wants to attain the specific targets.

Published : February 27, 2021 04:36 PM IST

India needs vibrant communication strategy for next phase of COVID-19 vaccination

You May Also Like

Coronavirus news highlights: Section 144 in Maharashtra, night curfew imposed from 8 pm to 7 am until May 1

Carnelian Capital expects further correction in market in next 1-2 months

Private vehicles to be fined Rs 1,000 for unnecessary travel

Trending on CNBC-TV18

recommended for you