Chandigarh private hospitals find few takers for paid vaccine

Naina Mishra
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 13

Private hospitals in the city are keen on sending Covid-19 vaccine doses either back to the manufacturer or other needy hospitals in view of a low turnout for paid vaccines and to curb wastage of jabs.

The UT Administration today also appealed to the corporate sector to come forward for the purchase of vaccines from private hospitals on cost-to-cost basis out of CSR funds and donate the same to the government hospitals so that these could be provided to general public free of cost.

Under their quota for July, the private hospitals were allocated over 50,000 doses in Chandigarh. However, no hospital came forward to place an order with the manufacturer.

Chaitanya Hospital, Sector 44, has written an email to the Serum Institute of India (SII), the manufacturer for Covishield, to facilitate shifting of at least 50 per cent doses out of the 12,000 procured to prevent the vaccine wastage. The hospital authorities said the vaccines were procured a month ago but the order was placed much before when the free facility was not opened in government hospitals for those below the age of 45. Due to delayed supply, the hospital was finding it difficult to consume it.

The hospital has requested the SII to facilitate shifting of the doses to other private hospitals that have placed orders with the manufacturer or allow it to send the doses to other small clinics that require the vaccine for their own patients.

Dr Neeraj Kumar of Chaitanya Hospital said, “The government health facilities in Chandigarh are quite good due to which no person wants to approach the private sector for the jab. The vaccine consumption is so low at private facilities that it will take another six months to exhaust the stock. We even approached the SII to take back the vaccines but we were informed that there are no such provisions. We have now requested the SII to allow us to give the vaccines to other hospitals.”

Dr Hardeep Singh of Santokh Hospital said, “We had purchased around 5,000 doses but have been able to administer only 600 of these so far. When the free facility was not available, we were able to vaccinate up to 150 people a day, but now not more than 20 doses are administered. We will also follow the suit and give our doses to others.”

Dr RS Bedi, former president of Indian Medical Association, said, “The government should allow selling vaccine among doctor fraternity. The SII sells a certain number of doses and not less and doctors have to pay in advance. So, the margins are low. For example, it costs Rs63 lakh for 10,000 doses at Rs630 each.”

Dr Bedi added, “If the vaccine in the private sector was distributed through stockists, like for other vaccines, every doctor will have access to the vaccine and the vaccination percentage in the private sector will shoot up.”