From allocation to pricing: Govt revises Covid-19 vaccination guidelines
PremiumAccording to the new guidelines, vaccines will be allocated to states based on population, disease burden and progress of vaccination
The government has released revised guidelines for Covid-19 vaccine supply to states/UTs. According to the new guidelines, vaccines will be allocated to states based on population, disease burden and progress of vaccination.
Govt releases revised guidelines for the national COVID vaccination program:
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- In respect of the vaccine doses provided free of cost by Union Govt to sates, Vaccination will be prioritised as the following: Health care Workers. Front Line Workers Citizens Above 45 years and above.
- States/UTs may decide their own prioritisation factoring in supply.
- Vaccines will be allocated to states based on population, disease burden and progress of vaccination.
- Wastage of vaccine will affect the allocation negatively.
- Govt will provide states/UTs advance information of vaccine doses to be supplied to them. States/UTs should similarly, further allocate doses well in advance to districts and vaccination centres. They should also put in the public domain the information about the above availability at the district and vaccination centre level.
- In order to incentivize production by vaccine manufacturers and encourage new vaccines, domestic vaccine manufacturers are given the option to also provide vaccines directly to private hospitals. This would be restricted to 25% of their monthly production. States/UTs would aggregate the demand of private hospitals keeping in view equitable distribution between large and small private hospitals and regional balance. Based on this aggregated demand, the Government of India will facilitate the supply of these vaccines to the private hospitals and their payment through the National Health Authority’s electronic platform. This would enable the smaller and remoter private hospitals to obtain the timely supply of vaccines, and further equitable access and regional balance.
- The price of vaccine doses for private hospitals would be declared by each vaccine manufacturer, and any subsequent changes would be notified in advance. The private hospital may charge up to a maximum of ₹150 per dose as service charges.
- All citizens irrespective of their income status are entitled to free vaccination.
- States may also optimally utilise the Common Service Centres and Call Centres to facilitate prior booking by citizens.
The Centre's centralised free vaccination policy will kick in on June 21, International Yoga Day and the government will provide free COVID-19 vaccine to all Indian citizens above 18 years of age. The Centre will also handle the 25 per cent vaccination that was with states till now under the liberalised plan announced earlier.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement in a televised address to the nation and said the Centre will procure 75 per cent of the total production of the vaccine doses and provide them free to the states. No state government would be spending anything on vaccines.
The Prime Minister further said that over 23 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given in the country and the supply of vaccines will increase in the coming days.
Addressing the nation at 5 pm on Monday, PM Modi said the country has two made-in-India vaccines.
"Today more than 23 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country... The vaccine supply will be increasing in the coming days. Seven companies in the country are producing different vaccines and three vaccine trials are at an advanced stage," he said.
The liberalised vaccination policy had come into effect from May 1 in which all people above 18 years were made eligible for vaccination. The policy entailed the Centre getting 50 per cent vaccine supply and 50 per cent to be procured under 'other than Government of India channel'.Many Chief Ministers had over the past few days urged the Centre to procure vaccines and supply to them due to procurement constraints faced by them.
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