In a letter, the All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists (AIOCD) has given assurance to PM Narendra Modi about cold chain availability for COVID-19 vaccine and requested him to utilise the established supply chain for vaccine distribution through its members comprising 8.50 lakh chemists across the country.

“We, 8.50 lakh members of AIOCD, assured Prime Minister of India during an online meeting with the President of AIOCD that our members will actively support by making medicines available without any interruption. We are proud that our members worked like warriors and maintained a smooth supply of essential medicines throughout the country in spite of threats of being infected,” stated the letter.

“We appreciate and are grateful to our scientists and pharma companies for successful development of COVID vaccines. AIOCD brings to the notice to Prime Minister that vaccines require an uninterrupted line of the cold chain, right from production point to the delivery/ administration of dose to a person. Here to before all kinds of vaccines have been successfully distributed by our members’ year on year. All required infrastructure is available with those of our trade members to manage intact cold chain with experience,” informed, JS Shinde, President, AIOCD.

Rajiv Singhal, General Secretary, AIOCD commented, “All chemists are ready to deliver COVID-19 vaccine with full cold chain management. We (AIOCD) have instructed all chemists to be ready and prepared for the COVID-19 vaccine in times to come.”

He further informed that they have already conducted many seminars for cold chain in the last three years, now the time has come to serve humanity. Therefore, AIOCD has requested the PM to advise concerned Ministries and Departments to issue guidelines for use of their channel members to distribute COVID-19 vaccines.