Vaccinations for 18+ in limited cities due to shortage : Key points
People wearing protective face masks wait to receive a dose of Covishield, a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, outside a vaccination centre in Ahmedabad. (Reuters)
The vaccination drive for those 18 years and above began on a dull note in India on Saturday amid a shortage of vaccines in the country.
This comes after the Centre on April 19 had announced a ‘liberalised’ policy in order to ramp up the coronavirus vaccination drive in the country and made all above 18 years of age eligible to get vaccinated from May 1.
However, some states have flagged the shortage of vaccines and expressed their inability to start vaccination of people above 18 years from today.
Here’s all you need to know about the coronavirus vaccination drive Phase 3-
As per the health ministry, more than 2.45 crore beneficiaries registered themselves on CoWin portal till 9.30pm on Friday.
Due to the delay in procurement of vaccines leading to a shortage, several states have said they won’t be able to kick off the drive today.
Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Goa and Chhattisgarh are among the states that said they’re running low on vaccine stocks.
Shashank Shekhar, 18, left, stands with his sisters displaying their vaccination cards after receiving Covid-19 vaccine at a hospital in Prayagraj, India.
States that have announced and begun inoculation drive in selected districts
- In Uttar Pradesh, one of the worst affected states in the country, the drive started in seven of the total 75 districts. The health department officials earlier said the drive will take place only in Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Meerut and Bareilly initially.
- In Maharashtra, the state government started a nominal vaccination drive on May 1 as chief minister Uddhav Thackeray believes that vaccination for those between 18 and 44 must start vaccination from May 1.
- The Tamil Nadu government also deferred its roll out the massive vaccination drive for the 18-44 years age group on May 1 as originally planned. However, some private hospitals like Apollo have said that they will roll out the vaccination drive for 18-plus.
- Gujarat is among the few states to have said they would do so, with chief minister Vijay Rupani saying on Friday that vaccinations for over-18s would happen only in the 10 worst-hit districts.
- The Jammu and Kashmir administration has said it will roll out the third phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive to cover people in the 18-45 age group from Saturday in a phased manner starting with the cities of Srinagar and Jammu. “Covaxin will be administered to this age group free of cost. It will be by *prior registration and prior appointment only.* Please do not crowd the vaccination centres without appointment,” the Department of Information and Public Relations said.
- The Odisha government announced the start of vaccination from Saturday after it received a consignment of 1.5 lakh doses of Covaxin on Friday evening.
- Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo said that the state will start the vaccination from the poorest people who have Antyodaya ration card or BPL card due to shortage of vaccine.
- Rajasthan will start the drive in only three of the 33 districts — Ajmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur — and was expecting three lakh vaccine doses by Friday midnight.
States that will not be able to vaccinate 18+ from today
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday appealed to residents of the national capital not to queue up at vaccination centres as vaccines have not yet been received.
- West Bengal government on Friday said the vaccination drive for those between 18 to 44 years of age will begin as and when the state receives the vaccine doses. It added that vaccination of those above 45 years will continue.
- Karnataka health minister Dr K Sudhakar yesterday urged the people of the state aged between 18-44 years to “refrain from going to hospitals” on Saturday, saying that the state has not received the required Covid-19 vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Centre vs sates
Dr Harsh Vardhan in a tweet on Friday evening said that the centre has provided “more than 16.33 crore Covid vaccine doses to states and union territories for free,” stressing on the point that “more than 1 crore doses are still available in stick with them”. Of this, “the total consumption including wastages is 15,33,56,503 doses”, an official statement said.
Vaccination at private hospitals
- Some private hospital chains commenced the Covid-19 immunisation drive for the 18-44 age group at limited centres in the country on Saturday, officials said.
- Apollo Hospitals sources said the drive commenced at its centres in Hyderabad and Kolkata, but not in Delhi. They said that they are waiting for the vaccines to arrive and that the immunisation in Delhi is likely to begin either by Monday or Tuesday.
- Max Healthcare announced the drive will begin at “select hospitals in the network in the NCR of Delhi”.
- The drive is yet to begin at Fortis Healthcare since it is waiting for the vaccine doses to arrive, sources said, adding it will start later in the day.
- Fortis Healthcare, in a statement, had said people in the 18-44 age group will be administered Covaxin for Rs 1,250, which will include the cost of vaccine and administration charges, at its “centres across north India from Saturday”.
- Max Healthcare had said all the hospitals in the network would be used to vaccinate the citizens as supplies of vaccine doses smoothen up. “Presently, vaccines will be available at Max Healthcare facilities at Panchsheel Park, Patparganj, Shalimar Bagh, Rajinder Place (BLK-Max Hospital), Noida and Vaishali in the NCR,” its statement read.
Where can you register for the vaccination
All eligible citizens can register online and book an appointment through the Co-Win portal. You may visit – https://www.CoWin.gov.in/home
How to register for the Covid-19 vaccination drive
What documents are required for the registration of eligible beneficiary
Any of the below-mentioned ID with photo may be produced at the time of registration:
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- Aadhaar Card
- Driving License
- Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Job Card
- Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs
- PAN Card
- Passbooks issued by Bank/Post Office
- Passport
- Pension Document
- Service Identity Card issued to employees by Central/ State Govt./ Public Limited Companies
- Voter ID
How will the beneficiary receive information about due date of vaccination
Following online registration, the beneficiary will receive SMS on their registered mobile number about the due date, place and time of vaccination.
Vaccination drive in India
Less than two months ago the health minister said India was in the “end game” of the pandemic as India sent millions of vaccines to dozens of countries.
India had started the Covid-19 vaccination drive on January 16 with two vaccines — Covishield (Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech Limited).
The second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive to inoculate people above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities against the coronavirus began on March 1. The third phase began on April 1 for all above 45 years of age.
Covid vaccines in India
Serum Institute of India is making 60-70 million AstraZeneca doses per month and is aiming for 100 million by July. Bharat Biotech is aiming to produce 10 million a month and targets 60-70 million.
Indian firms also have deals to produce other shots including Russia’s Sputnik V — some doses of which were due to arrive soon — and Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, but it could be months until these are deployed.
The first batch of Sputnik V was due to arrive on Saturday. Another 125 million doses of Sputnik V will be distributed by India’s pharmaceutical company later this year.
Covid-19 vaccine cost in India
So far, government vaccines have been free, and private hospitals have been permitted to sell shots at a price capped at Rs 250.
That practice will now change: Prices for state governments and private hospitals will be determined by vaccine companies. Some states might not be able to provide vaccines for free since they are paying twice as much as the Centre for the same shot, and prices at private hospitals could rise.
The central government is buying shots at Rs 150 each. The Serum Institute will sell the shots to states at Rs 300 each, and to private players at Rs 600 each. Bharat Biotech said it will charge states Rs 400 for a shot, and private players 1,200 rupees.
By comparison, the European Union paid $2.15 per dose for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The company says that price is discounted because the EU contributed to the vaccine’s development.
