According to World Health Organization (WHO) South East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Ketarpal Singh, the assessment process for Covid-19 vaccines is being carried out using a tool named VIRAT. “Whenever a new vaccine is introduced in any country, an assessment is done on the capacity and preparedness prior to rolling out the vaccine. The same process is being followed for Covid-19 vaccines. WHO and partners have developed a Covid-19 Vaccine Introduction Readiness Assessment Tool (VIRAT), which is helping countries plan for the introduction of the Covid vaccine as well as monitor their readiness and progress,” Dr Poonam Ketarpal Singh said. This tool will help countries and partners/stakeholders to identify gaps, if any, and address them. A review of the cold storage capacity is also an integral component of the readiness assessment being undertaken in countries.
