The Union Health Ministry’s National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme has received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2022. The award was in the innovation category.
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan received the award at the 16th Civil Services Day event here on Friday.
In a tweet, the Union Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, said: “A Proud Moment! @MoHFW_India team has been conferred with PM Awards For Excellence in Public Administration, 2022, for National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme. Congratulations to the entire team who worked tirelessly with the mantra of vaccinating everyone.”
As per a statement, over 220 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far.
The nationwide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16, 2021, with health workers being the first to be inoculated. This was followed by vaccines for frontline Covid workers beginning in February 2021. In March of that year, India opened up vaccination for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. Vaccination for all (18 years and above) was opened up May 1, onwards.
Also read: How are healthcare companies faring as Covid-19 ebbs?
Inoculation of adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years commenced on January 3, 2022. India began administering precaution doses to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10. In March that year, vaccination for children aged 12 to 14 years began. And on April 10, administering precaution doses of Covid vaccines to all aged above 18 years was opened up.
A statement from the Ministry also mentioned that the development of the Co-WIN (Winning over Covid) platform for facilitating a smooth vaccination roll-out was critical to the success of the programme. The IT platform was based on: inclusivity, accessibility, equity, transparency and scalability. It enabled real-time monitoring of the status of the vaccination drive, vaccine availability and utilisation; facilitated the beneficiaries in self-registration; advanced booking of vaccination appointments and availability of QR-based individual digital certificates.
The innovative digital platform has been modified and customised with evolving guidelines from time to time. It was ensured that the process of registration and vaccination remains simple, transparent and hassle-free, the statement further added.