Day 2: CoWin strikes again
29 pvt hospitals can now jump in
Unable to get slots during online registration, seniors proceed to centres; on-the-spot registrations add to chaos; police called in to control surging crowds; drive proceeds after delay of few hours
After the Maharashtra government on Tuesday sought the Centre's nod for private hospitals to participate in the third phase of the vaccination drive, 29 such hospitals in the city have been granted permission to do so. This will help curtail to a certain extent the chaos being witnessed at the designated vaccine centres in the city for the last two days.
Dr Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician, Bombay Hospital and the coordinator of private hospitals, said the names of the 29 private hospitals would be available on the CoWin portal from Thursday.
“The logistics will be completed today (Wednesday) and then beneficiaries can register through the CoWin portal by selecting the respective hospital they wish to take the vaccine,” he said.
The state government has also urged the Centre to allow managed hospitals to administer vaccines, so that they can achieve the desired results in the minimum time-frame.
“The state government has requested the Centre to also allow the trust managed hospitals to join the drive and it is hopeful of securing the approval. This will give vaccination a momentum and thereby help cover a large segment of the state's population. It will also ease the burden on the government and private hospitals currently permitted to vaccinate,” a senior health department officer told The Free Press Journal. There are not many hospitals empanelled under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) and Central Government Health Services (CGHS) schemes, and this had affected the current phase of the vaccination drive, resulting in senior citizens and those 45 years of age and above with comorbidities unfortunately having to face the brunt.
“We had urged the state government to allow private hospitals in the third phase and, accordingly, a proposal was sent to the Centre. The main purpose of seeking permission was to ensure that the drive proceeds smoothly as senior citizens comprise eight per cent of the state’s population. We have a few empanelled hospitals, so it is not possible that everyone will get vaccinated on time and the drive will drag on,” he said.