Pvt centres to procure vaccines directly from manufacturers starting May 1

Vaccination will continue to be free for eligible groups

NEW DELHI: From May 1, the present system of private COVID-19 vaccination centres receiving doses from the government and charging up to Rs 250 per dose will cease to exist and they will procure directly from vaccine manufacturers.

According to the Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy, COVID-19 vaccination will continue to be free for eligible population groups comprising health care workers, frontline workers and population above 45 years of age in government COVID vaccination centres which receive doses from the Government of India.

Vaccine manufacturers would make an advance declaration of the price for 50 per cent supply that would be available to state governments in the open market before May 1.

Based on this price, states, private hospitals, industrial establishments may procure vaccine doses from manufacturers. Private hospitals would have to procure their supplies of COVID-19 vaccine exclusively from the 50 per cent supply earmarked for other than the Government of India channel.

The price charged for vaccination by private hospitals would be monitored, it said.

"Consequently the present dispensation where private COVID vaccination centres receive doses from the government and can charge up to Rs.250 per dose will cease to exist," the Union Health ministry document said.

Vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the Government of India and would be free to supply remaining 50 per cent doses to state governments and in the open market.

For Government of India vaccination centres, the eligible population would be the same which exists today that is healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) and population above 45 years of age. For other than the government of India channel, the eligibility would be all adult citizens of the country, the document said.

The COVID-19 vaccination will continue to be free for eligible population groups in all those Government COVID Vaccination Centres which receive vaccine doses from Government of India.

All vaccination (through Govt. of India vaccination centres and other than Govt. of India channel) would be part of the National Vaccination Programme, will follow all existing guidelines, will be captured on CoWIN platform along with the stocks and price per vaccination applicable in all vaccination centres, will comply with Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) management and reporting, digital vaccination certificate and all other prescribed norms.

The division of vaccine supply which would mean 50 per cent to Govt of India and 50 per cent to other than Govt of India channel would be applicable uniformly across for all vaccines manufactured in the country.