The Serum Institute of India in Pune. (Express photo: Ashish Kale) At least 26 small and medium-sized hospitals in and around Pune have sent a joint proposal to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for procuring one lakh Covid vaccine doses.
These hospitals were recognised by the Maharashtra government as Covid vaccination centres on April 1 and were involved in the inoculation drive.
However, since May 1, the hospitals not been able to procure doses from the District Health authorities. “Hence all these 26 hospitals have come together and sent a joint proposal to procure one lakh doses. A letter was sent to SII last week and we are waiting for their response,” Dr Sanjay Patil, Chairman of Hospital Board of India, IMA Pune chapter, told The Indian Express.
These hospitals are mostly around the periphery of Pune. Since they received government approval as private Covid vaccination centres, the number of sessions for inoculation were limited due to the shortage of vaccine.
“However the significance is that they are geographically located away from the city and can be utilised to maximize vaccination in peripheral areas,” Dr Patil said.
Presently, there are 98 government-approved private Covid vaccination centres in the city. Most of these are waiting for clarity from the Union Government pertaining to the distribution of doses from the state. Officials with some private hospitals said that they have been told by SII that only orders that are placed before June 8 will be met.
Dr Ashwin Porwal founder of Healing Hands Clinic that has administered vaccine doses to 20,000 beneficiaries so far said they had placed an order with SII. ”We are hoping for some clarity on the way forward,” he said.
According to state health department data over 33 lakh vaccine doses have been administered in the Pune district.
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