COVID-19 vaccine introduction readiness assessment tool
Overview
This document provides a brief introduction to the updated COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction Readiness Assessment Tool, referred to as the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0. The tool is provided to support countries in 1) assessing programme readiness to introduce COVID-19 vaccines; 2) identifying gaps and prioritizing actions for enhanced readiness; and 3) identifying opportunities for financial support through the World Bank’s Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) portfolio to help countries optimize vaccine delivery and use.
Background
Several global and regional initiatives are supporting countries in preparing and building readiness for the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. WHO and UNICEF lead the COVAX Country Readiness and Delivery (CRD) workstream (including Gavi, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). The CRD workstream issued the Vaccine Introduction Readiness Assessment Tool (VIRAT) to support Ministries of Health in developing a roadmap to prepare for vaccine introduction and identify gaps to inform areas for potential support. Building upon the VIRAT, the World Bank developed the Vaccine Readiness Assessment Framework (VRAF) to help countries obtain granular information on gaps and associated costs and help countries programme financial resources for deployment of vaccines.
Why an integrated VIRAT and VRAF country assessment tool?
To minimize burden on countries and avoid duplication in information collection, the VIRAT and VRAF tools are consolidated into the comprehensive VIRAT/VRAF 2.0. The consolidation of the tools will reduce workload while simultaneously helping countries have a more complete programmatic and resource assessment of readiness for COVID-19 vaccine introduction. The VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 fosters enhanced collaboration across WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, leveraging the strengths of each organization, and will help unlock unprecedented support for countries in their preparedness for COVID-19 vaccine deployment and their ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is different in the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 compared to the previous versions?
The VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 is an evolution of both the VIRAT and the VRAF and contains core activities and indicators taken directly from the original tools. The content in the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 is compatible with data already collected using either the VIRAT or the VRAF. A table of equivalency is included in Annex 2 showing which indicators from the VIRAT or VRAF correspond to indicators in the new tool. The VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 measures readiness across ten key areas relating to country readiness:
- Planning and coordination,
- Budgeting,
- Regulatory,
- Prioritization, Targeting, and COVID-19 Surveillance,
- Service Delivery,
- Training and Supervision,
- Monitoring and Evaluation,
- Vaccine, Cold Chain, Logistics, and Infrastructure
- Safety Surveillance, and
- Demand Generation and Communication.
Within these core areas, there are 50 qualitative and quantitative indicators.
Alignment with national COVID-19 Response and PHC Recovery Plans
Essential to successful introduction will be a careful assessment of the opportunity costs of COVID-19 vaccine introduction against other efforts to restore the supply of and equitable access to other essential Primary Health Care (PHC) services that the country has prioritized.
Use of VIRAT/VRAF 2.0
Given the previous release of the VIRAT tool by the COVAX CRD workstream and the VRAF tool by the World Bank, countries have made varying degrees of progress in completing these vaccine readiness assessments. As the purpose of the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 is to facilitate in-country work, the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 should not disrupt any advanced assessment made using the VIRAT or the VRAF. Rather, the new tool should complement the work that countries are already undertaking. Countries where the use of the original VIRAT or the VRAF is still at an earlier stage are encouraged to consider at country-level how to best join efforts in leveraging each other’s resources in defining a data collection process that optimizes use of the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0. Countries at an advanced stage of readiness assessment are encouraged to proceed with their initial endeavour, and respective country teams are encouraged to share information gathered.
