Tamil Nadu’s vaccination drive gets a shot in the arm

CHENNAI: At least 24 lakh more people in Tamil Nadu are set to receive free Covid-19 vaccines, thanks to allotment of 12 lakh additional doses by the Centre, and the state government’s decision to buy another 12 lakh vaccines from private hospitals. The state will use CSR funds to buy doses from private hospitals and administer it to people free of cost, said health minister Ma Subramanian.
On Wednesday, chief minister M K Stalin will launch the free vaccination camp at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai where at least 1,000 people can get vaccinated. “Similar drive will be done across the state. In the first week of August, 1 lakh industrial employees from Hosur will get free vaccines from private hospitals in Krishnagiri,” the minister said.

So far, Tamil Nadu has collected more than Rs5 crore to purchase the anti-Covid vaccines allotted to the private sector in the state.
Private hospitals have purchased only 5 lakh doses though their July allotment is 17 lakh doses. “Had we not intervened now, Tamil Nadu would have lost the 12 lakh doses allotted to private hospitals in the state for the month of July. We want to stake a claim to all vaccines allotted to the state, so we can vaccinate as many people as possible, at the earliest,” Subramanian said.
The pace of vaccination is slow in the private sector because many people can’t afford it, he said, pointing out that private hospitals charge Rs750 for Covishield and Rs1,400 for Covaxin. “The Centre turned down our request to reduce the 25% quota for the private sector to 10%. So, we decided to buy these vaccines from private hospitals using CSR funds and administer them to people free of cost,” the minister told TOI.
Since May 1, private hospitals in the state have purchased about 19 lakh doses of the three vaccines — Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik.
Meanwhile, the Centre has also allocated 12 lakh additional doses against the monthly quota of 72 lakh for July.
“The state was allotted around 54 lakh doses initially. Last week, the Centre added 5 lakh additional doses. We have now been told that we will be receiving another 7 lakh doses additional for July,” Subramanian said.
For the 6 crore-odd adult population eligible for vaccination, Tamil Nadu has to administer at least 12 crore doses. The state has so far administered 2.07 crore doses, including 2.8 lakh on Tuesday at government vaccination centres.
On Tuesday, the cumulative tally of vaccinations at private hospitals rose to 14.37 lakh since May 1.