The bigger challenge

Hitherto countries are inoculating the health workers only. They can be easily located in hospitals. The challenge will be to vaccinate millions of ordinary citizens in India who are living in towns, slums and villages. Here the census data with local governments will be of immense value, in managing micro localities. Voters’ lists are also maintained by governments and municipalities. They will help the authorities to establish the exact number of people, their location and doses to be administered on any given day.

In vaccinating crowded slums, it would be useful to establish vaccination centres on sites. Vans with refrigeration facilities could stock the vaccine. Medical staff accompanying the vans could administer the doses to the locals. Meticulous record-keeping is a must, for people have to return after a stipulated period for the second dose.

Vaccination centres can also be started in the universities, colleges and schools. Parents of school children should be present when the vaccination takes place. Private companies can have vaccination centres in their own offices and factories. This will enable rapid inoculation of all employees.

It is horrifying to see countries squabbling amongst themselves for vaccines. The focus of governments should be to provide incentives to vaccine manufacturers to boost their production adequately. Then the scramble for vaccines will subside and the scourge of COVID-19 will start receding.

If there were enough vaccines being produced, we could even order them online. Pharmaceutical companies can pack “do-it-yourself” vaccine kits with instructions on how to use it. Amazon could deliver these vaccines, packed in ice packages, as they deliver chocolates and other perishables.

Again, countries are also debating which vaccines to use. There will come a time when all the brands of vaccines will be available in pharmacies. We will then, be able to buy the vaccine we prefer and visit the family doctor to get vaccinated.  Hopefully, those days are not far away.

Rajendra Aneja
Mumbai, India