Pune district COVID-19 vaccine task force holds first meeting

A task force set up for planning the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in Pune district of Maharashtra held its first meeting here on Monday, an official said. Earlier in the day, Pune-based Serum Institute of India SII said it has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India DCGI for emergency use authorisation for AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

A task force set up for planning the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in Pune district of Maharashtra held its first meeting here on Monday, an official said. District collector Rajesh Deshmukh said thetask force will ensure that the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) laid down by the government for storage and distribution of vaccine are followed.

"As part of preparedness, the work for collating data of frontline workers, who will be administered vaccine on priority, is going on," he said. The collector said training employees in various aspects of the vaccination programme like logistical support, transport, cold chain maintenance etc. will be planned stage-wise.

Block-leveltask force will also be established for better coordination, he added. Earlier in the day, Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) said it has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use authorisation for AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine in the country.