Since Monday morning the vaccination center at the government hospital in Chennai was unusually busy as people walked in to get the Coronavirus vaccine shot.
The situation was similar at various government hospitals in Chennai.
In Tamil Nadu, apart from online registration, the state administration also allowed people to walk in and register for vaccinations.
Seventy-year old S Jayaraman, who reached the government general hospital in Chennai at 8.30am waited patiently for his turn to register. He said he was not anxious ahead of taking the taking the vaccine and authorities had told him that he could choose the vaccine.
Next to Apollo's main hospital in Chennai, a vaccination center run by the hospital saw a good response.
Fifty-eight-year old Venkatramaih, executive director of an automobile company walked into Apollo's center to register and said that he was taking Covishield.
"I am very enthusiastic and have no apprehensions since it's approved by the government and ICMR. Everyone should take and it's our primary responsibility to avoid spreading the infection ," he said.
Across the state, 529 government hospitals and 761 private hospitals have been roped in for the second phase of the vaccination drive in Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu government has released a list of guidelines for the second phase of Covid-19 vaccination drive starting March 1.
The guidelines state that the name of the vaccine, whether Covaxin or Covishield, will not be disclosed at the time of the appointment.
The vaccination drive, covering people above 60 and those with co-morbidities above the age of 45, will offer both Oxford’s Covishield and the indigenously-developed Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
However, Director of Public Health Dr TS Selvavinayagam said that a consent form will be given for Covaxin ahead of vaccination.
The vaccination guidelines are framed in an academic language and people need not worry about it. People would know which vaccine they are taking before they enter the center itself.
The state health department said that people can choose the centre of their choice and there is an option of advance on-site registration as well. People can also register on the COWIN 2.0 portal or through IT applications such as the Arogya Setu app.
After filling the basic biodata, ID card details, the beneficiary will get an OTP verification. With one phone number, four people can register. Once verified, the beneficiary can book an appointment in the centre of their choice.
If the beneficiary cancels the appointment for dose 1, the appointment for the second dose will also be cancelled. During the vaccination, the beneficiary must carry the photo ID card and mobile phone through which they had registered. However, having an appointment slip does not guarantee vaccination, said the state health department.
Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that people were very happy across the state and were coming voluntarily to register for the vaccination. "It's a big hit," Radhakrishnan told Business Standard adding that roping in the private sector had really helped.
Suneeta Reddy, MD at Apollo Hospitals, said that they were targeting 650 vaccines in Chennai today.
Speaking on pricing, she said that the Covid vaccination was not for making money. "We need to help the society. None of us is going to lose. It's a good value proposition for everyone."
She further said that the government's decision to rope in the private sector was a bold decision.
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