Executed by the WHO Syria Vaccination Team, the campaign was initiated in the Aleppo countryside, Idlib and its countryside. It involved giving AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines to health and humanitarian professionals in the target areas. In this phase, more social groups are added to the beneficiaries, including all persons who are over 18 years of age. Through 48 vaccination stations and 110 mobile teams across all target regions, the campaign will last until the end of the year, with a view to ensuring the target rates of coverage as recommended by WHO.
As a neutral organisation, QRCS seeks to ensure compliance with international vaccination standards. In co-ordination with WHO, 27 well-trained field inspectors are deployed across the designated areas to enforce the campaign’s quality indicators, verify the readiness of vaccination centres, supervise the validity of injections and personnel performance, and make sure that no one is left behind, QRCS has said in a statement.
Other tasks of the monitoring teams include correcting any procedures that go beyond the campaign’s plan, applying coronavirus preventive measures, identifying coverage rates during and after the campaign, and providing recommendations for the vaccinators. Generally, the monitoring process involves two phases. Prior to a campaign, the supervisors visit the main centres to make sure that all preparations and equipment are in place. Then, vaccine samples and storage conditions are checked for any inconveniences. Inspectors accompany the vaccinators to evaluate their performance at health centres and in households.
Finally, the results are reported to see what went right and what did not, as feedback to guide future operations. QRCS has extensive experience in monitoring vaccination campaigns against infectious diseases. Its representation mission in Gaziantep held brief training courses for the inspectors both on the mission’s premises and inside Syria, to qualify them to perform inspections, develop action plans, follow up with the work done and document all results properly. Then, they become ready to be deployed together with the vaccinators to the target districts.
Over the past seven years, QRCS has monitored numerous vaccination campaigns in Syria, in co-operation with many UN, local and international humanitarian organisations. It is a "leading organisation in this field, with its remarkable field, administrative and technical expertise", the statement adds.
