Flexible and agile vaccination strategies can play a vital role in protecting lives in India as COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, according to a latest Lancet report.
The report ''Responsive and Agile Vaccination Strategies Against COVID-19 in India'' published by the Lancet Global Health on Friday highlighted the importance of sentinel site based surveillance and detection of early warning signal through test positivity ratio (TPR).
"Our analysis offers a demonstration of principle that even limited vaccination resources could be marshalled for maximum impact, if deployed flexibly in response to a rapidly evolving epidemic," the report said.
It said the experience from influenza pandemics in 1918 and 2009, as well as the current COVID-19 pandemic in other countries, highlight the potential for not just two, but subsequent waves of infection.
"Flexible, agile vaccination strategies could thus play an important part in protecting lives and livelihoods as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold," it said.
The report noted that innovative measures currently being tried in India like establishing satellite vaccination centres closer to hamlets in rural settings and resident welfare associations in urban areas; converting community halls and using large parking spaces for drive-in vaccination; and using mobile vaccination facilities to cover populations that do not live within easy access of vaccination centres.
"Such community-based outreach activities, along with transport facilities for older and less physically able individuals (from their homes to satellite vaccination sites), will reduce the distance between main vaccination session sites and the potential recipients."