The government’s latest direction to states, will significantly increase the capacity. India has a total of 43,486 private hospitals. On an average, India is inoculating about 5-6 lakh people a day, way short of the government’s target of 13 lakh.
File image: India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive (Representative image)
With Central government permitting all private hospitals to give COVID-19 vaccine if they adhere to the laid down norms and asked the States and Union Territories to utilise private medical facilities empanelled under three categories, the COVID-19 vaccination is expected to gather speed.
Private sector was roped in for the Phase-2 of COVID-19 vaccination drive, where the government plans to vaccinate 30 crore people over the age of 60 and those who are above 45 with comorbidities.
Around 10,000 private hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, more than 600 hospitals empanelled under CGHS and other private hospitals empanelled under state governments health insurance schemes can participate as COVID vaccination centres.
It is estimated that 20,000 private facilities will be available as COVID-19 vaccination centres. The government’s latest direction to states, will significantly increase the capacity. India has a total of 43,486 private hospitals. On an average, India is inoculating about 5-6 lakh people a day, way short of the government’s target of 13 lakh.
The private hospitals will have to provide adequate space, cold-chain arrangements, vaccinators and support staff along with arrangements for addressing adverse events following immunisation, or what is commonly known as side-effects.
The decision was communicated to the States on Tuesday in a high-level meeting chaired by Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary along with Dr RS Sharma, Chairman of Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration (Co-WIN).
These facilities will be in addition to the government facilities being used as vaccination centres.
Please read here on challenges faced by private is scale up vaccination and the price offered to them.
The government also urged state governments not to store, reserve, conserve or create a buffer stock of the COVID-19 vaccines, with a view of avoiding artificial shortages.
On the second day of the vaccination drive, private hospitals accounted for more than 50 percent of the people vaccinated.
Viswanath Pilla is a business journalist with 14 years of reporting experience. Based in Mumbai, Pilla covers pharma, healthcare and infrastructure sectors for Moneycontrol.
