Committees set up to oversee rollout
Kohima, December 7 (MExN): The Government of Nagaland has put in place a three-tier system to oversee the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and address any hiccups, including rumours, according to a report from the state DIPR on Monday.
The three-tiers include a State Steering Committee with the Nagaland Chief Secretary as Chairperson; a State Task Force with the Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare as Chairperson and a District Task Force with the Deputy Commissioner as Chairperson.
The committees should meet at a minimum frequency of once a month, once a fortnight, and once a week, respectively, it said,
As per the DIPR, the state government also outlined the terms of reference for the committees and laid down a list of activities for both the preparatory phase and the phase that follows vaccine rollout.
For the preparatory phase the Committees have been tasked with creation of database of beneficiaries on the COVID-19 Vaccination Beneficiary Management System (CVBMS). It also stated that the first phase of vaccination would be prioritized for Health Care Workers (HCWs), as put forward at the national level. This will be followed by other front-line workers and other priority socio- demographic groups.
The steering committee will have to review issues such as cold-chain preparedness (to ensure proper transfer of vaccines), operational planning, and communication planning and devise strategies for state-specific challenges that may arise, in terms of geographical terrain, network connectivity, access to hard-to-reach areas etc, besides exploring the availability of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for vaccine-related activities.
Once the vaccine is available, the steering committee’s duties will include tracking social media for misinformation, ensuring active involvement of stakeholders, and undertaking regular reviews of vaccine coverage.
The preparatory-phase responsibilities of the State Task Force, meanwhile, include identifying “vaccinators across government and private sectors so as to minimise disruption of routine immunisation services while introducing COVID-19 vaccine,” as well inclusion of local and religious leaders in the process of planning and mapping of vaccination sessions.
Among other things, the district task force will work on developing “robust communication planning at all levels to address rumour-mongering as well as vaccine eagerness” in order to address possible misinformation and rumors that could impact the community acceptance for COVID-19 vaccine.
