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| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 3
| Issue : 1 | Page : 32-33 |
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Insights from training drive for coronavirus disease-19 vaccination in India
Priyanka Sharma, Geeta Pardeshi
Department of Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India
| Date of Submission | 30-Sep-2021 |
| Date of Decision | 15-Dec-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 19-Dec-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 24-Mar-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Priyanka Sharma
Department of Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jascp.jascp_22_21
How to cite this article:
Sharma P, Pardeshi G. Insights from training drive for coronavirus disease-19 vaccination in India. J Appl Sci Clin Pract 2022;3:32-3 |
How to cite this URL:
Sharma P, Pardeshi G. Insights from training drive for coronavirus disease-19 vaccination in India. J Appl Sci Clin Pract [serial online] 2022 [cited 2022 May 17];3:32-3. Available from: http://www.jascp.com/text.asp?2022/3/1/32/340878 |
Dear Editor,
With the possibility of including vaccines in the set of interventions for the prevention and control of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) in India, the government undertook a massive drive to train the health workforce in December 2020.[1] Participation in the training programs for COVID-19 vaccination has given us firsthand experience in practicing some of the principles of health education and training, and we have summarized the key features of this initiative in the following points:
| Cascading Nature | |  |
Training of master trainers was done for various levels, i.e., national, state, district, and block.[1] For COVID-19 vaccines, the training programs were more intensive and completed in a time-bound manner compared to previous programs. As the resource persons for these training were master trainers for each hierarchy level, it built the participants' trust in the training program.
| Content | | |
The ministry provided all the training material including PowerPoint presentations for all topics, video films, and a manual of operational guidelines.[2] This ensured consistency in the messages which were delivered in the training workshops throughout the country.
| Timing | | |
The government was yet to decide about the vaccine to be used in the program, and the participants needed to be convinced about the training session's timeliness. Two points proved to be crucial here. The candidate vaccines had common characteristics, namely, liquid form, intramuscular route of administration, the storage temperature of 2°C to 8°C, and two doses at 3–4-week interval.[2] This information was sufficient to plan the rollout. Another fact was the visible multipronged preparation strategy where arrangements for funding, cold chain space, site selection, advocacy and social mobilization, identification, and training of human resource was being done simultaneously.[3] This strategy would reduce the latent time between approval and actual vaccination.
| Reinforcement | | |
The training was designed to include lectures followed by a short animated film that reiterated the critical learning points. The participants were also given a module on operational guidelines for reference and a link to the website, which provided access to all training material for self-learning.
| Hands-on Experience | | |
Dry runs were organized within a week of the training, which gave the participants the opportunity to set up the vaccination site, rehearse conduct of the vaccination, operate the Co-WIN app, and test AEFI management protocols. The teams could identify and rectify the gaps and report their experience to authorities for corrective action.[4]
| Feedback | | |
The participants were the medical officers, staff nurses, and auxiliary nurse-midwives who had rich field experience. Throughout the training, feedback was sought from the participants. Their queries were either answered or reported to the district/state/national authorities. It was heartening that the ministry published frequently asked questions that included responses to many of the questions which were raised in the training program.[5]
| Comprehension | | |
When the training program was planned at the district and block level, posttraining assessment forms were made available, which helped the organizers gauge the participants' understanding – those who did not score well on the posttraining assessment forms needed to re-attend the training.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
| 1. | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Central Government Gears Up for Roll Out of COVID19 Vaccine. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; December 25, 2020. Available from: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1683529. [Last accessed on 2021 Jan 22].  |
| 2. | |
| 3. | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. New Digital Platform 'CO-WIN' is being used for COVID-19 Vaccination Delivery. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; December 08, 2020. Available from: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1679181. [Last accessed on 2021 Jan 22]. |
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