New reports suggest that a new command and control centre at the Central Government’s aviation cargo wing known as AAICLAS (Airports Authority of India Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company) will monitor the movement of COVID-19 vaccines across 41 airports in the country. The Pune Airport will serve as the hub for this control centre. Pune happens to be the region where vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) is based.
Authorities will focus transportation efforts in cities/airports like Mumbai, Karnal, Chennai, and Kolkata, and several others among the 41 locations in the country. These four cities contain a Government Medical Stores Depot or GMSD which is run under the periphery of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
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It is said that vaccines will arrive from the manufacturer at these depots and will then be distributed to 37 state depots. From here, the vaccines will be sent to district depots and to the primary health care centres that have been designated as vaccination zones. The information was provided by the Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Rajesh Bhushan during a press briefing on Jan 5.
Officials said that each of the dedicated centres will have a temperature monitor which will upload temperature data in real-time on the government’s central server.
The AAICLAS is reportedly in the process of drafting a standard operating protocol to “ensure coordination among different supply chain stakeholders for maximising shipping capabilities”, CEO Keku Bomi Gazder said while speaking to The Hindu.
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The aforementioned SOPs are primarily focused on making sure the process goes through effectively without any bottlenecks. Authorities on the ground will have to make sure that a vaccine consignment doesn’t take more than 30 minutes to be loaded onto the aircraft after it arrives at the cargo terminal.
Further, officials will have to ensure that the cargo doesn’t take more than six minutes to be unloaded from the aircraft at its destination and then shifted onto an insulated van situated just outside the airport for further transportation.
Officials from the AAICLAS, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Indian Air Force, vaccine maker SII, and representatives of private airlines met on Wednesday at Pune Airport to discuss the finer details of this undertaking, including infrastructure and manpower requirements.
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