Question : COVID-19 Vaccination

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:


(a) whether the Government has tied up with multiple vaccine manufacturers for getting higher number of Coronavirus vaccines, if so, the details thereof along with the number of vaccines approved so far by the Expert Committee set up by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation;

(b) whether the Government has decided to administer the vaccine for COVID-19 to the entire population free of cost on priority basis, if so, the details thereof indicating the States that are implementing the drive;

(c) the number of intended beneficiaries and the expenditure likely to be incurred thereon, State/UT-wise; and

(d) the details of funds disbursed for procurement of protective gears for frontline healthcare workers and others as on date, State/UT-wise?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(DR. HARSH VARDHAN)


(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO.61* FOR 5TH FEBRUARY, 2021

(a) to (d) As per New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 under Drugs and Cosmetics Act,1940 and in light of urgent need due to COVID pandemic in the country, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), headed by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the National Regulator, in consultation with the Subject Expert Committee (SEC), has granted permission to manufacture two COVID-19 vaccines, after following the prescribed procedure and evaluation of pre-clinical and clinical trial data for restricted use in emergency situation. The Government of India is using these two vaccines that have been given the necessary approval by the CDSCO. These two vaccines are Covishield vaccine of Serum Institute of India and Covaxin vaccine of Bharat Biotech International limited.
National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) provides guidance on all aspects of COVID-19 vaccination including prioritization of population groups, procurement and inventory management, vaccine selection, vaccine delivery and tracking mechanism etc. NEGVAC has prioritized Health Care Workers and Front Line Workers during the initial phase of COVID-19 vaccination followed by prioritized population groups of persons aged 50 years and above, and those aged less than 50 years with comorbidities. The vaccines are being provided free of cost by the Central Government for vaccination of Health Care Workers and Front Line Workers and vaccination is being implemented across all States and UTs.
A total of 96,28,179 Health Care Workers and 78,51,249 Front Line Workers have been registered as on 03rd February 2021. The expenditure to be incurred as operational cost for vaccination of estimated 3 crore Health Care Workers and Front Line Workers is about INR 480 crore. The disbursement of funds for meeting the operational cost to the States/UTs is being done as per the beneficiaries registered on Co-WIN portal. The State/UT-wise details of Health Care Workers and Front Line Workers registered on Co-WIN portal along with the disbursement of first tranche of operational cost is at Annexure-1.
In addition, under the ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package’, the States/UTs have been provided with additional in-kind support which includes N95 masks and PPE kits. The details of same are placed at Annexure- 2.