Indian Railways is in talks with the government over the transportation of the vaccine through its refrigerated wagons
Bengaluru: While India waits with bated breath for the vaccine panacea, Indian Railways is in talks with the government over the transportation of the vaccine through its refrigerated wagons, however, no final decision has been taken on the same, officials said on Monday, a popular website noted.
There are a lot of technicalities involved including the temperature factor.
Railway Board Chairman and CEO VK Yadav had said "We are in talks with the government and we are discussing the possibilities,” as quoted by the website.
"We are in continuous touch with several ministries for the transportation of Covid vaccines," Yadav further said.
It is to be noted that the railways transports perishable goods like vegetables and fruits to all parts of the country using the relevant mechanism.
The department also has refrigerated vans which can be booked on a round-trip basis, the website noted.
On the other hand, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan is optimistic of distributing the vaccine in January next year.
"Our first priority has been safety and effectiveness of vaccines. We don't want to compromise on that. I personally feel, maybe in any week of January, we can be in a position to give the first Covid vaccine shot to people of India," he said.
The minister also stressed that there is no question on compromising the quality of the vaccine.
"India is not less than any country when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine and research. Our first priority has been the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. We do not want any comprise on that. Our regulators are analysing them with seriousness," he said.
Earlier, he had said, “Our scientists and health experts have worked on the development of a vaccine by genome sequencing and isolation of the coronavirus and developed an indigenous vaccine. In 6-7 months, we will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 crore people" he had said addressing the 22nd Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on COVID-19.”
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