NEW DELHI : In a major revision of the Covid-19 vaccination policy, the Centre is contemplating lowering the 25% vaccine quota earmarked for private hospitals, sources told The New Indian Express.
The move comes in the wake of several states, including Tamil Nadu and Odisha, asking the Centre to cut the private sector’s quota to 10%, arguing its participation in the inoculation drive has been poor.
Under the existing policy, vaccines are split between government and private hospitals in a 75-25 % ratio. While beneficiaries are entitled to free vaccinations in government facilities, they have to pay pre-fixed charges at private centres.
However, the pace of vaccination in private hospitals in most states, has been very slow. Since May, when Covid-19 vaccination opened for all adults, only 7 percent of the jabs administered had been in private hospitals.“We feel there are not many takers for Covid vaccines in private hospitals, especially in
tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” a senior health ministry official said, adding that people seem to prefer to
take free shots in government hospitals rather than pay high price in private hospitals. “Therefore,
we are re-examining the vaccine procurement and distribution policy,” the official added.
Girdhar Gyani, director-general, the Association of Private Healthcare Providers of India, listed three reasons for low uptake in private hospitals. He said vaccine availability is low in smaller hospitals due to a condition set by Covishield maker Serum Institute to pre-book at least 3,000 doses in one go. Vaccine hesitancy in 25-30 percent population and a lack of coordination on part of several states in vaccine procurement for hospitals are the other reasons, he added.