Cold Chain Management for National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme

Cold chain is a system of storing and transporting vaccines at the recommended temperatures from point of manufacturing to the point of use. It is an essential part of immunization supply chain which encompasses the planning, people, infrastructure, activities, MIS and resources to ensure last mile delivery of right vaccine at right place in right quantities. The country had experience of implementing UIP for childhood vaccinations for more than three and a half decade and had well established cold chain system and reliable and digitized immunization supply chain for the same. However, the media reports were sceptical regarding the availability of enough cold chain storage space and capacity to deliver the Covid-19 vaccines to the vaccination centres through the existing supply chain of UIP. Mindful of the requirements for impending nationwide Covid-19 vaccination program; the Government established the NEGVAC and subgroups to plan and guide. The concerned subgroup headed by a Union Secretary of Govt. was briefed about initial assessment of available cold chain storage space along with modalities of transporting the vaccines. The initial assessment revealed the adequacy of storage space to cater to 30 million doses. As directed by the sub-group, the cold chain space was planned to be augmented rapidly to accommodate for increased availability of Covid-19 vaccines later in shorter time. In view of this, it was decided to rapidly add more cold chain equipment to accommodate 300 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. This was done through expediting the procurement at MoHFW level, through UNICEF supply, and through CSR funding from PSUs. The government took proactive steps to evaluate cold chain capacity and potential gaps, converting crisis into an opportunity for strengthening the system. This comprehensive approach, combining personnel expertise, established practices, and equipment reliability, was the key to success in executing the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccination drive.