India COVID-19 Employer Resources
India is going through an unprecedented second wave of COVID-19. Major metropolitans like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore have a shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, and medicines. Prudent Brokers has prepared a Covid 19 – Resource Guide to enable clients to find medical resources. The guide serves as a ready reckoner with helpline numbers and links to important contacts such as ambulance services, hospitals, and home sample collection centres for major locations like Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
Read this report about India’s Covid Vaccination Plan by Prudent Brokers to get more details on India’s vaccination drive, the roll-out, and which vaccines the country uses.
COVID-19 vaccine considerations for India
- Can employers mandate the vaccine?
No as of 1/25/21, but is subject to change - Who will control delivery of the vaccine?
Federal government - Who covers the cost of the vaccine?
Government - Where will people get vaccinated?
Government designated vaccination locations - Is there cultural resistance to getting the vaccine?
No
The vaccine is in the control of GOI (Govt. of India). The city of Pune will be the central hub from where the vaccine distribution procedure will take place. Apart from it, the GOI has allowed passenger aircraft to transport coronavirus vaccines to 41 destinations across the country (4 primary destinations, which are called Government Medical Store Depot (GMSD) located in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Haryana’s Karnal, and 37 vaccine stores in India). These facilities can store vaccines in bulk and distribute them.
After March 2021, the vaccine is expected to be in private hands. The private players already use certain logistic partners for the usual vaccine drives. The same would be used to bring it to the distributors who have good capability to maintain the cold chain and storage of the vaccines.
There are dedicated centers where pre-registered beneficiaries shall be vaccinated. The cold chain infrastructure is sufficient to ensure last-mile delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine in a temperature-controlled environment across the country. Sufficient supplies of syringes and other logistics have also been ensured to begin the COVID-19 vaccination drive. Around 114,100 vaccinators have been trained on the process to be followed at the vaccination sites, which includes beneficiary verification, vaccination, cold chain and logistics management, Bio-Medical Waste management, adverse event following immunization (AEFI) management, and uploading the information on Co-WIN website.
The GOI is making the vaccine available without any cost to the eligible beneficiaries in Phase 1. In case it goes private, the cost needs to be paid by individuals.
In India, the cultural issues haven’t impaired mass vaccination drives much; however, a few vaccine programs did have sporadic challenges (GOI-run polio vaccination drives had seen it in the past). There are continuous efforts by all the religious groups to educate their respective followers to follow science-based recommendations about vaccines instead of religious beliefs.
More Information
India’s Vaccine Roll Out Plans
India starts world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination drive
India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
More News and Statistics About India and COVID-19
This information is provided by Prudent Brokers, Asinta's partner in India.Employee Benefits in India
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Page last modified: April 26, 2021
The information presented on this site is current as of the date initially posted; and, because matters related to COVID-19, the vaccine, and compliance measures are changing so quickly, it may not be current as of the date you read it. While the information gathered here is from Asinta global partners who are subject matter experts in their respective fields, this information is not meant to be a substitute for individual legal or medical advice, or as a substitute for advice in your specific situation.