Centre caps COVID-19 vaccine price at Rs 250 per dose, releases list of empanelled private hospitals

Private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 per dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the health ministry said on Saturday, releasing a list of private hospitals where beneficiaries can get themselves inoculated after paying the fixed price. The list includes around 10,000 private hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY ( click here to access list), more than 600 hospitals empanelled under CGHS ( list can be downloaded from here) and other private hospitals empanelled under State Govts Health Insurance Schemes, the health ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.

#LargestVaccineDrive

Private Sector Participation: States can use 10,000 hospitals under AB-PMJAY and 687 hospitals under CGHS as #COVID19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs), who may recover a charge subject to ceiling of ₹250/person/dose.https://t.co/tbkoPvo6cQ pic.twitter.com/bitlCP6wRE

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) February 27, 2021

All people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities can get themselves vaccinated at private hospitals from 1 March, the statement added. Beneficiaries will be able to register in advance through COWIN 2.0 or Aaarogya Setu app or walk-in and register on the spot at any of these hospitals, provided they are carrying valid proof of identity, age, and if required, certificate of co-morbidity. While people will need to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine, capped at Rs 250 per dose, at private facilities, the vaccine will continue to be made available for free of cost at government hospitals, the ministry added. How to register for vaccination There are three routes to register for COVID-19 vaccination — 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, which is a population-scale software with the capacity of processing several thousands of entries, and through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu. “This will show the government and private hospitals serving as CVCs with the 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 ministry said. There will be a facility for on-site registration so that eligible beneficiaries can walk into identified vaccination centres, get themselves registered and inoculated, the ministry added. Under the facilitated cohort registration mechanism, the state and UT government will take the proactive lead, the ministry said in the statement. When will vaccination take place Specific date(s) for COVID-19 vaccination will be decided where target groups of potential beneficiates will be vaccinated. State and health authorities will ensure that that the target groups are actively mobilised and brought to the vaccination centres. ASHAs, ANMs, Panchayati Raj representatives and Women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be utilised for mobilising the target groups. “Eligible beneficiaries would be able to register themselves on the Co-WIN platform from 1 March itself,” RS Sharma, chairman of Empowered Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Administration had said on Friday, according to PTI. Price of vaccine doses Vaccination will be free of charge at government vaccination centres. Those taking the COVID vaccine at any designated/empanelled private health facility will have to pay a pre-fixed charge. The Healthy tweeted on Saturday that it has capped the price of vaccine at private hospitals at Rs 250 per dose. Rs 150 being the cost of the vaccine and Rs 100 being allowed as service charge, according to PTI. Documents required to get vaccinated The beneficiary will have to show a photo ID document for proof of age and a certificate of co-morbidity (if required). All beneficiaries regardless of the mode of access 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). The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on 16 January. On Friday, the health ministry said it will be 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 1 March. During a meeting held on Friday, representatives of states and UTs were explained the basic features of version 2.0 of the digital platform Co-WIN, States and UTs were asked to ensure that the private health facilities have adequate space for the vaccination process, as detailed in the comprehensive SOPs issued by the ministry, basic cold chain equipment, their own team of vaccinators and staff, and adequate facility for management of any adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) cases for using them as CVCs. With inputs from PTI