Covid-19 vaccination for people aged above 60 years and 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities will be available in all private hospitals empanelled under central government insurance schemes such as Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PM JAY) and also similar State Health Insurance Schemes from Monday.
The covid-19 vaccination will also be conducted at Government COVID Vaccination Centers (CVCs) that would be government health facilities such as Sub Health Centres (SHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, Sub-Division Hospitals, District Hospitals and Medical College Hospitals.
The beneficiaries will be able to self-register in advance by downloading the CO-Win 2.0 portal and through other IT Applications such as Arogya Setu etc. This will show the Government and private hospitals serving as CVCs with date and time of the available schedules. The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination. Facility of On-Site registration will also be allowed for those who cannot self-register in advance to walk into the identified CVCs and get themselves registered on-site and then vaccinated, the government said.
Vaccination will be free of charge at the Government Vaccination Centres. The beneficiary will have to show a photo ID document for proof of age (preferably Aadhar card or Electoral Photo Identity (EPIC) Card and certificate of co-morbidity (if required). Those taking the COVID vaccine at any designated/empanelled private health facility will have to pay a pre-fixed charge. The charge is not known yet.
A certificate of co-morbidity for citizens in age group of 45 years to 59 years (signed by a registered medical practitioner) and employment certificate/ Official Identity Card – (either but with photo and date of birth) for healthcare workers and frontline workers will also be required.
The States/UTs however, will need to ensure that the private health facilities mandatorily must fulfil certain criteria be used as COVID Vaccination Centres. The private vaccinations should have adequate space for the vaccination process, basic cold chain equipment for storing the vaccine vials; own team of vaccinators and staff; adequate facility for management of any adverse reaction following immunisation (AEFI) cases as detailed in the comprehensive guidelines issued by the health ministry.
As a part of the preparation, Saturday and Sunday (27th and 28th Feb), the Co-Win digital platform will be transitioning from Co-Win1.0 to Co-Win 2.0. In view of this, covid-19 Vaccination sessions will not be scheduled during these two days. The States and UTs have been already informed about this transition, the union health ministry said.
As the country steps up preparations for the second phase of the covid-19 vaccination, Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary along with Dr. R. S. Sharma, Chairman of Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration (Co-WIN) and member, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of covid-19 (NEGVAC) chaired a high-level meeting on Friday with Health Secretaries and MDs (NHM) of States and UTs on the vaccination of age-appropriate groups through a video conference.
States and UTs were explained the basic features of version 2.0 of the digital platform CO-Win, which is a population-scale software with capacity of processing several thousands of entries. “The new phase of vaccination of age-appropriate groups will expand the COVID vaccination in the country manifold. With a citizen –centric approach, the fundamental shift in this phase is that citizens in the identified age groups, as also those healthcare workers and frontline who have been missed out or left out of the present phase of vaccination, can select vaccination centres of their choice," the health ministry said in a statement.
“Secondly, the private sector hospitals will be involved as COVID Vaccination centres to harness their potential to expand the vaccination capacities," it said. The centre guided the states about facilitated Cohort Registration. Under this mechanism, the State/UT Government will take proactive lead. Specific date(s) for COVID vaccination will be decided where target groups of potential beneficiates will be vaccinated. The State/UT health authorities will ensure that that the target groups are actively mobilised and brought to the vaccination centres. ASHAs, ANMs, Panchayati Raj representatives and Women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) will be utilized for mobilizing the target groups.
Under all the above three routes, all beneficiaries would be captured on Co-WIN2.0 platform and would be issued digital QR Code based provisional (on receiving the first does) and final (on receiving second dose) certificates. These can be downloaded from the link shown in the SMS the beneficiary shall receive after the vaccination. Print out of these certificates can also be taken from the Vaccination Centres.
States and UTs have been 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.
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