India’s precautionary dose vaccination for 18 years and older began on Sunday, although some hospital chains postponed vaccination until Monday.
Chains like Apollo (in Delhi and Kolkata), AMRI (in Kolkata), Fortis, Max Healthcare said the booster jabs would be administered from Monday.
While logistics issues and low staffing were cited as a reason, the sudden announcement to open up booster doses (over a period of two days) also affected the planning of hospitals in cities such as New Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
Some were waiting for clarity on the price revision till late Saturday night, especially on how their old stock (purchased at higher government approved rates) would be disposed of, which apparently delayed the rollout.
A spokesperson of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi said business Line“The roll out of the precautionary dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for the 18+ population begins April 11. Both, Covaxin and Kovashield will be available to people in this age group.”
Meanwhile, Shelby Multispecialty Hospitals – Ahmedabad, which introduced vaccination “only for a few hours” in one of its sites, said turnout is expected to increase in the coming days. Hardik Thakkar, AVP, Shalby Multispecialty Hospitals-Ahmedabad, said, “We started vaccination at one of our sites for only a few hours in the morning and full immunization will start from tomorrow as we will get more clarity about the pricing.”
Booster doses for all adults — nine months after their second dose — are available only through private hospitals.
Rupak Barua, Group CEO, AMRI Hospitals, said that since January 2021, more than 1.25 lakh beneficiaries have been vaccinated. “We will start booster dose vaccination for the respective age group from Monday. In AMRI, the dose will cost Rs 380,” he said.
Hospitals, however, are not worried about stocks.
Meanwhile, vaccine makers – Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech – will compensate (private hospitals) for the price difference of unexpired stock in the form of free vials of fresh stock.
On Saturday, prices were reduced to ₹225 per dose for both Covishield and Covaxin (down from ₹600 and ₹1,200 respectively).
A communication from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reportedly said, “As per the instruction of Adar C Poonawalla, we would like to inform you that we will compensate the price difference for the existing unspent stock lying with the private COVID vaccination centres. will do.” So, the price difference between the recent price of ₹600 plus GST and SII’s recent price of ₹225 plus GST will be compensated in the form of free vials of fresh stock of Covishield, it is understood.
Bharat Biotech had announced its stock compensation policy on Saturday evening.
AMRI’s Barua, who is also the president of the Eastern India Hospitals Associations, said hospitals in the area have been assured compensation and the government has apprised them of the matter.
“We expect the lower price to also ensure that those who are eligible to exercise due caution will opt for it to protect themselves properly, unlike the poor footfall in the CVC from November 2021 onwards,” he added.
Published on
April 10, 2022