24,000 pvt hospitals to join Phase-3 vax drive

The Centre on Wednesday gave its nod to 24,000 designated private hospitals to administer the Covid-19 vaccine, while widening the ambit of the vaccination drive that will cover senior citizens above 60 and those above 45 with comorbidities from March 1.Only private hospitals empanelled under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) have been identified for the exercise. According to initial discussions in the health ministry, private hospitals may not be permitted to sell the vaccine but could be allowed to collect a nominal fee to administer it, said sources familiar with the details. The final contours of the plan are still being worked out. Also, 10,000 government hospitals will provide vaccination for free.After the Union cabinet meeting on Wednesday, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said: “The cabinet has taken a decision that the next phase of vaccination will begin from March 1 in which those above 60 years of age and 45 plus with comorbidities will be administered vaccine in 10,000 government medical facilities and nearly 24,000 private hospitals.”‘Detailed Announcement Soon’Javadekar said the health ministry will come up with a detailed announcement after firming up details over the next couple of days. “Whoever goes to a government centre will be administered vaccine free of cost. But if a person takes his vaccine in a private hospital, he would have to pay a fee,” the minister said. 81201086The government plans to open the Co-WIN app starting Thursday for states to register vaccination centres. However, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal and Delhi — which have stayed out of the PMJAY scheme — will need clarity on identifying private hospitals. Odisha’s ProposalOdisha has already written to the health ministry to allow private hospitals empanelled under its own state scheme to be registered as vaccination centres. “We have 183 private hospitals empanelled under the state health scheme. We have sought permission to register them as vaccination centres. We are awaiting permission from the health ministry,” Odisha National Health Mission director Shalini Pandit told ET. Initial discussions on the fee to be charged by private hospitals indicate that it may not exceed Rs 50-100.A private hospital administrator, who has been involved in stakeholder consultations with the government, told ET, “There is a proposal from the private healthcare sector to allow private selling in hospitals for any person who can afford it but the government has not taken a final call on this. The charges would be nominal – between Rs 50 and Rs 100 – to administer the vaccine.”So far, the government has not issued any standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the third phase of the vaccination drive. These would be finalised by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration (NEGVAC) and are likely to be issued on Sunday. The states have not started beneficiary registrations. “These would be registered only after NEGVAC finalises SOPs,” said a health ministry official.The government will purchase the necessary doses and dispatch them to the states. The next tranche of vaccines is expected to be supplied Sunday, the official said.The health ministry has asked all states to increase the number of vaccination days to five from three. At present, almost all states have earmarked three-four days for vaccination. Better-performing states have higher number of days at some centres — some even offering the vaccines at centres on six days.The ministry is also finalising which comorbidities would be covered for 45 years and above age group. “Comorbidities like diabetes would be covered. The list will come out. But any person above 60 years — even if there is no comorbidity — will get the vaccine,” said Javadekar. So far, 10.7 million people have been vaccinated and 1400,000 have received the second dose of the Covishield vaccine.Pvt Sector UpbeatUpbeat about the cabinet decision, the sector is hopeful of getting the opportunity to sell the vaccine. “There is clarity on few counts. The vaccine will be available for private purchase from March 1. The price will be determined and fixed over the next few days,” said Abhay Soi, chairman and MD, Max Healthcare.“We welcome the decision taken by the cabinet today to include private healthcare providers in the vaccination drive. The sector will continue to strengthen government’s capacity across the value chain of Covid-19 vaccine distribution and administration, testing and treatment to foster last-mile delivery,” said Siddhartha Bhattacharya, secretary general, NATHEALTH.

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