Private hospitals empanelled under health schemes as Covid vaccination centres

NEW DELHI: The upcoming expansion of the Covid-19 vaccination programme targeted at people above 60 and those over 45 with specified comorbidities will involve a network of private hospitals empanelled under the Central Government Health Schemes and Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana.

Hospitals empanelled for state-run health insurance schemes will also be the vaccination centres in this phase of the vaccination drive, set to begin from March 1, the states were told on Friday by the Centre.

In a meeting with Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan and R S Sharma, chairman of the empowered group on vaccine administration, states were also informed that as Co-WIN, the platform driving the vaccination, is being upgraded, current beneficiaries will also have a choice of vaccination centres.

As of now, healthcare workers and frontline workers are allocated vaccination centres and do not get an option to choose the centre of their choice.

The Centre also said that government facilities such as primary and community health centres, Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres sub-division hospitals, district hospitals and medical college hospitals will double up as vaccination centres.

States have also been asked to ensure that the private health facilities mandatorily must have basic cold chain equipment, their own team of vaccinators and staff and adequate facility for management of any adverse event following immunisation cases for being used as vaccination centres.

All beneficiaries, regardless of the mode of access, must have also been asked to carry specified documents for identity verification and those with comorbidities will need a certificate from a registered medical practitioner.

Also, the process of registration will include three routes which include advance self-registration, on-site registration and facilitated cohort registration.

“Vaccination will be free of charge at the Government Vaccination Centres,” said the health ministry adding that those taking the Covid vaccine at any designated empanelled private health facility will have to pay a pre-fixed charge, which is yet to be made public.

In the meeting on Friday, states were also asked to keep a vaccination scale-up plan ready which will include the granular weekly and fortnightly plans for scaling up the vaccination sites both within the government and private facilities and also the number of vaccine doses administered.