According to official sources private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 per dose of Covid-19 vaccine as India prepares to vaccinate people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities from March 1.
The government hospitals are going to provide the Covid-19 vaccines for free, while for private facilities people will have to pay for it.
A source said, “Rs 250 will be the ceiling — Rs 150 cost of vaccine plus Rs 100 service charge. This arrangement will remain effective till further orders”.
The states and union territories have been informed about it, according to sources. The Union Health Ministry on Friday informed beneficiaries would be able to self-register in advance by downloading the Co-WIN 2.0 portal and through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu, which will show the government and private hospitals serving as Covid-19 vaccination centres (CVCs) with date and time of the available schedules.
The ministry said, the beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination.
R S Sharma, Chairman of Empowered Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Administration had said, “Eligible beneficiaries would be able to register themselves on the Co-WIN platform from March 1 itself”.
On January 16 the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive was launched. This is now to be exponentially expanded to the age-groups — all citizens above 60 years and those within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities — from March 1.
The representatives of states and UTs were explained the basic features of version 2.0 of the digital platform Co-WIN, which is population-scale software with capacity of processing several thousands of entries during a meeting, held on Friday.
All CVCs must be health facilities which are government health facilities such as sub health centres (SHCs), primary health centres (PHCs), community health centres (CHCs), Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, Sub-Division Hospitals, District Hospitals and Medical College Hospitals or private hospitals empanelled under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PM JAY) and similar State Health Insurance Schemes.
Regardless of the mode of access all beneficiaries,will have to carry any one of the following photo ID documents — Aadhaar Card, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), Photo ID card specified at the time of registration in case of online registration (if not Aadhaar or EPIC), certificate of co-morbidity for citizens in age group of 45 years to 59 years (signed by a registered medical practitioner), and employment certificate/Official Identity Card for healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs).
States and UTs on Friday explained the simplified process of registration, which shall be through three routes that are: advance self-registration, on-site registration and facilitated cohort registration. Under the first route, beneficiaries will be able to self register in advance by downloading the Co-WIN 2.0 portal and through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu.
“This will show the government and private hospitals serving as CVCs with date and time of the available schedules. The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination.
“The facility of on-site registration allows those who cannot self register in advance to walk into the identified CVCs and get themselves registered on-site and then vaccinated,” the ministry said.
