As the scheduled openings of phase 3 of COVID-19 vaccination drive across the nation of age group 18-44 years kicks in from today onwards, the Union government stated that the states which have currently coordinated with the vaccine makers on procuring from the open marketplace, will commence the exercising.
Some of the country’s biggest private hospitals such as Fortis Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals Group, and Max Healthcare have cleared that they will commence the planned immunisation programme in choose areas, even if with restricted doses. At present, only two vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin — are readily available for the inoculation drive.
If a candidate right after registering themselves by means of government’s Co-WIN portal visits the private hospitals to get vaccinated, he/she would have to spend a value of Rs 1,200- Rs 1,250 per jab for Covaxin and Rs 800- Rs 850 a shot for Covishield. The value incorporated the price of administering the doses and GST.
Apart from these, various state governments have also announced that they would provide the vaccine at free of charge-of-price for all above 18 years. However, they also expressed their inability to commence the COVID-19 vaccination exercising citing shortages of sufficient doses of vaccine.
In April, the central government had announced the vaccination drive for the 18 to 44-year age group from May 1 onwards.
Apollo Hospitals, which is regarded to be the biggest hospital chain in the nation, had initiated discussions with Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech given that November 2020. It will provide each Covishield and Covaxin at some of its hospitals situated at Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
On the other hand, Fortis Healthcare and Max Healthcare will provide Covaxin and Covishield respectively across its centres from today onwards.
Meanwhile, Kolkata-based Woodlands Hospital stated that each Bharat Biotech and SII had expressed their inability to provide vaccines till June. “This time vaccine supply will not be (given) by govt but we’ve been asked to write to manufacturers directly and we’ve written to Bharat Biotech and SII for vaccines. They’ve written to us that they won’t be able to supply us with vaccines till June, so we still don’t have the vaccines with us. We’re ready with vaccination centres but the moment the vaccines comes to us we’ll able to vaccinate,” Dr Rupali Basu, MD & CEO, Woodlands Hospital, Kolkata told news agency ANI.