Thank You , Cabinet Secretary

What for ?

For setting up a Task Force for Covid Vaccine Distribution

Where is it reported ?

Following news appearing in today’s Hindustan Times :

Govt sets up task force for vaccine distribution

What is its task ?

Ø  pick the vaccine or vaccines that India can use,

Ø  plan the finances for what is sure to be an expensive purchase running into billions of dollars, and

Ø  prioritise the sequence of administration.

Who are the Members of this Task Force ?

Ø  Dr V K Paul – NITI Aayog ( Chair-person )

Ø  Shri Rajesh Bhushan , Health Secretary ( Co-Chair )

Ø  AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria,

Ø  Representatives of the ministries of external affairs, biotechnology, information technology,

Ø  Director General of Health services,

Ø  India’s Aids Research Institute,

Ø  Indian Council of Medical Research,  

Ø  Representatives from states.

What are your past suggestions on this subject – especially re Distribution Priorities ?

Over the past few weeks , I have sent to Cabinet Ministers / State Chief Ministers  / NITI Aayog etc., following emails :

========================================================

Rationing of Covid Vaccine ?   ………………………………………………………………[ 06 July 2020 ]

Extract :

How to determine these priorities , scientifically / un-biasedly , for 700 million people ?

By compiling :

     Data about “ Persons already infected ( cured / died / under treatment ) “

     Data about “ Persons not infected so far “ – and needing vaccination

But , if meticulously compiled and centrally processed ( with help of Artificial Intelligence ), following data, compiled uniformly at source, could determine those

 “ VACCINATION  PRIORITIES “ :

[ A ]   PERSONAL  DATA

              Name / Birthdate ( for Age ) / Gendre / Contact Details / Aadhar number

[ B ]   LOCATION  DATA

              Permanent Address / Current Address ( State – Jilla – City – locality ) / Red Zone /

              Containment

[ C ]   FAMILY  DATA

               Details of Parents / Siblings

[ D ]  HEALTH  HISTORY

              Details of recent illnesses - morbidity / Medicines given ( including for Covid

              treatment ) / Hospitals where treated / Names & License Number of Doctor who

              treated

[ E ]   ETHNIC  DATA

              Race / Religion  / Language ( Mother tongue )

[ F ]  EDUCATIONAL  DATA

             Graduate – Under Graduate – Illiterate etc

[ G ]  EMPLOYMENT  DATA

              Employed – Unemployed – Self employed

[ H ]  INCOME  DATA

              Monthly Income ( to determine whether RICH – MIDDLE CLASS – POOR )

Besides using such exhaustive data for all ( Covid infected or not ) in order for AI software to tell us the “ priorities for vaccination “, what else should the Government do ensure that there is no “ black marketing “ of the limited supplies of the vaccine ?

Answer :

Ø  Today , each strip / bottle of a medicine carries “ batch number “

Ø  For vaccine , each bottle / vial , besides carrying Batch Number , must carry UNIQUE bottle number / vial number . Vaccine Manufacturer will record which bottle got dispatched to which drug store / when. Data will get automatically transmitted to Govt’s Central Server

Ø  Pharmacy Stores to maintain Computerized Record of who ( which person ) was sold a given “ Vial Number “ . This data will get automatically transmitted to Govt’s Central Server

Ø  No vial to be sold to anyone unless a Mobile App ( VaccineVend  ? ) clearly displays that person’s priority  ( as determined by AI ) , as HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW . No person without such Mobile App will be sold the vaccine

Ø  Chemist will enter sale-details in customer / buyer’s Mobile App , which will get automatically transmitted to Govt’s Central Server

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An Appeal to DCGI – and others   …………………………………………………………….[ 09 July 2020 ]

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Thank You All   ……………………………………………………………………………………………[ 10 July 2020 ]

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RELATED READINGS :

Centre plans to set up Covid-19 Registry   …………………………………………………( Business Line / 08 Aug 020 )

Extract :

Ø  The Centre is launching a National Clinical Registry for Covid-19 (NCRC), which will enable collection of real time clinical data for evidence-based clinical practice, research, formulating guidelines and policy making.

Ø  In a letter of intent for participation in the NCRC, the Indian Council of Medical Research stated that the registry will collect data regarding clinical and laboratory features, treatments and outcomes of Covid-19 patients who are hospitalised.

Ø  Data will also be utilised to study the natural course of the disease, the spectrum, risk factors, outcomes data in terms of medications and health systems and also behaviour of Covid-19 in those with tuberculosis and malnutrition. Also, follow up data of discharged Covid-19 patients will be collected.

Ø  ICMR has proposed that data from 100 hospitals will be collected over a duration of one year. These hospitals must receive at least 100 Covid-19 patients in a month

Ø  The registry will help in generating weekly epidemiological and clinical reports which will be published on the ICMR website. It will also help in formulating patient management protocols and develop policy guidelines, ICMR stated. It will help understand the predictors of disease severity and optimise patient management protocols

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Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network ensures essential immunisation services during Covid-19: Health Ministry  /  Business Line  /  04  Aug  2020

=========================================================

Lockdown hit more workers from lower castes   /  Business Line  /  04  Aug  2020

=========================================================

Dear Dr V K Paulji  [  NITI Ayog ]  /  vinodk.paul@gov.in,

I wish you all success in quickly developing the TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM ( a portal ? ), where all concerned ,

( Hospitals – Nursing Homes – Isolation Wards – Quarantine Centres – Pathology Labs – Testing Labs – Private Doctors – Health Workers – Vaccine Administering Staff – Medical Stores – Vaccine Manufacturers – Distributors – Purchasing Agencies – etc ),

-       enter patient and vaccine related data , using a STANDARDIZED / STRUCTURED , database , as suggested in :

 Corona Patient Case Histories : a Fragmented Database …………………………..[ 30 Mar 2020 ]

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  08  Aug  2020

=======================================================

Contacts :

Ø  Dr V K Paulji  [  NITI Ayog ]  /  vinodk.paul@gov.in

Ø  Shri Rajesh Bhushan – Health Secretary  /  secyhfw@nic.in

Ø  Shri Anil Deshmukhji ,

          Home Minister ( Mah / info@anildeshmukh.com / deshmukhv09@gmail.com )

Ø  Shri Rajendra Shinganeji,

          FDA Minster ( Mah / drrajendrashingane61@gmail.com )

Ø  Shri Arun Unhaleji

          FDA Commissioner ( Mah – comm.fda-mah@nic.in )

Ø  Shri V G Somani, Drug Controller General of India ( DCGI )

          dci@nic.in  /  se.reddy@nic.in 

Ø  The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization ( CDSCO )

          arunsharma@csco.nic.in  /  pbn.prasad@cdsco.nic.in  / bangaru@cdsco.nic.in

Ø  Smt  Shubhra Singh ,

           Chairperson , The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India ( NPPA )

           Chairman.nppa@nic.in

Ø  Dr T P Lahane, Directorate of Medical Education and Research ( DMER )

           dmerps@gmail.com  /  dmercetcell@gmail.com

Any ( paying ) Job is better than “ No Job “

That seems to be the argument of Tripura Government before the Supreme Court

I hope , the Supreme Court concurs

Context :

This State seeks SC permission to appoint 10,000 terminated Teachers as Peons  

Extract :

On Tuesday, the Govt of Tripura sought the Apex Court’s permission to re-appoint over 10,000

Ø  postgraduate,

Ø  graduate &

Ø  under-graduate ,   teachers

 

whose appointments were quashed on Court orders, as

Ø  peons,

Ø  night guards,

Ø  gardeners,

Ø  cooks  

Ø  lower division clerks

The lawyer also argued that some of them might be willing to take Group C & D posts, proposed by the state government, but demanded that they should be given the benefit of their past service as teachers with the state, even if they were appointed illegally.

The Bench reserved its order.

=========================================================

This news took me back by 41 YEARS , to 1979 , when I was faced with a similar problem of loss of jobs for 300 workers at L&T ( Madh Works ) – and how our Labour Union reacted to my ( Tripura-like ) proposal

Here is that full story :

Work less - but not Jobless  ………………………………………………………………………[ 08 Dec 2015 ]

Extract :

But that reminds me when L&T decided to stop manufacture of Diamond Core Drills and Water Well Drills, at its Madh ( Mumbai ) factory , in 1979

At that time, I was posted at L&T Powai Works as General Manager and responsible for all negotiations / settlements with the Labour Union

When they heard about Management decision, C S Nakhate and S V Naik ( Union leaders ) came to me to protest against Management decision to retrench 300 odd workers

They said :

"  Who will believe that L&T cannot absorb 300 workers when it has a work-force of some 7500 workers in Mumbai ? You must protect their jobs "

I agreed not to retrench a single worker , on condition that each and every worker ,  would accept ANY other job offered in Powai - after re-skilling , if necessary

Eventually , all workers rendered " work-less " were re-deployed in various departments of L&T ( - including , at some out-station

factories ) , without making any one " job-less "  !

Fast forward to 2012 :

In my own small company , I have personal experience of a group of my employees accepting a 20 % salary-cut, in order to protect the job of a colleague, till business revived !

Employees must be made to understand that such a temporary sacrifice will enable a Company to ride out the bad times, when the only way out is to reduce the manpower costs

They must be told :

" If you are not ready to accept a temporary sacrifice , Company will become

  irreversibly sick and eventually , everyone will lose their jobs ! "

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Dear Employers’ Organizations ,

( CII – ASSOCHAM – FICCI – NASSCOM - Chambers of Commerce etc )

As a result of Covid-induced lockdown, millions of employees ( blue collar – grey collar – white collar supervisory ), have lost their jobs

Demand loss / revenue loss, will not allow the employers to re-hire these jobless people, for months / years to come

But there is a very definite possibility ( to re-hire all ) if,

Ø  Remaining ( sill employed ) employees accept a 25 % salary/wage cut

Ø  Employees who have lost their jobs agree to be re-hired on 25 % lower salary / wages ( as compared to what they were drawing earlier )

Ø  Overtime payment ( beyond 8 hours ) is made @ 100 % ( instead of @200 % )

Ø  Re-hired employees agree to carry out ANY JOB assigned

Ø  Scrap rigid “ JOB DESCRIPTIONS “, enshrined in Management / Union , 4-year agreements

Ø  Employers undertake not to recruit any OUTSIDER till all old employees who lost their jobs, get re-hired

Ø  Salaries / Wages are FROZEN at current level, till April 2021

Ø  “ Annual Salary-Wage Increments “ are restricted to max 75 % of GDP increase of the preceding year

Ø  After April 2021 , monthly rise in DA ( Dearness Allowance ), is restricted to 50 % increase in monthly increases of CPI ( wherever such a linkage is enshrined in Union Agreement )

On behalf of Indian Employers, it is your responsibility to convince

Ø  Employers

Ø  Labour Unions

Ø  Supreme Court

Ø  Political Parties… etc

that ,

Ø  Unless we succeed in making Indian Economy, a LOW COST ECONOMY , things will get WORSE , and hundreds of companies will close down, and many more millions will lose their jobs

As to, how Indian CEOs can get this message across to their employees, you may exhort them to look up :

EMPLOYEE SEMINAR" AT LONAVLA  ………………………………………………………………….[ 31 Dec 1986 ]

With regards,

Hemen Parekh /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 07 Aug 2020