KOLKATA: Private hospitals will flag off a new phase of inoculation for those above 45 with co-morbidites and the 60-plus age group on Tuesday with a cap of five vials or 50 doses per day per hospital. They have been asked to set up separate sites for Covaxin and Covishield, though only the latter will be administered in the initial stages. A set of FAQs issued by the health ministry on Sunday mentioned that applicants could not choose between the two. Till last Friday, hospitals in Bengal had been administering only Covishield.
Since the Co-Win 2.0 app is expected to go live on Sunday midnight, registration can begin on Monday. Private hospitals can’t begin the new phase before Tuesday and only those who register by 3pm will be eligible for a shot the next day.
Hospitals can charge Rs 250 for each vaccine, including a user charge of Rs 100, from the recipients. This was decided at a webinar between state health officials and private hospitals on Sunday evening. It was preceded by an online meet between the Union health department, state private hospital representatives and state health officials.
Each hospital must collect vials from the civic boroughs supplying it for the earlier sessions. Each vial will cost a private hospital Rs 1,500 and they can apply for a maximum of 5,000 doses. Each hospital must also register afresh for the new phase and make advance payment.
It was also announced at the meeting — headed by state urban development joint secretary Joly Choudhury — once recipients fill up basic details, those between 45 and 59 must upload a co-morbidity certificate from a registered doctor. All applicants must choose a site and time slot, after which, the application will show in the hospital’s Co-Win module.
“Depending on our infrastructure, we will decide how many we can inoculate in a day,” said RTIICS zonal director R Venkatesh.
“The instruction is to avoid a mix up of recipients and administering staff of the two vaccines. We will start with one site for each,” said AMRI CEO Rupak Barua.
“We are looking at extension of infrastructure since the exercise will continue for at least a year,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.