Covid-19 Vaccination Policy: The central government is going to implement a new vaccination policy from June 21 for corona vaccination across the country. With this, the vaccination policy running from 1 May 2021 will end.
Covid-19 New Vaccination Policy: The central government is going to implement another new vaccination policy to overcome the corona epidemic. This new policy will be applicable from 21 June 2021. In the new policy, the central government will buy vaccines for all citizens above the age of 18 years. Under this policy, the central government will buy 75 percent of the vaccines from vaccine manufacturers, while the remaining 25 percent of the vaccines will be sold to private hospitals.
Earlier, the government had also implemented a new vaccination policy on May 1, 2021, in which the responsibility of buying vaccines for people aged 18 to 44 years was put on the states. But that policy soon got embroiled in all-out controversies. States were facing a lot of difficulties in procuring vaccines. Along with the governments of the opposition parties, the Supreme Court also raised many serious questions on the new vaccination policy of the government. In these circumstances, the central government had to announce a change in the vaccination policy again. What will be the change in the system of vaccination when the new vaccination policy is implemented from June 21, let us know:
Special features of the new vaccination policy implemented from June 21
- Free vaccine will be provided to all citizens above 18 years of age through the central and state governments. Earlier, free vaccine was being provided by the central government only for people aged 45 years and above and priority groups like health care workers.
- Vaccines will not be available for free in private hospitals. But now private hospitals will not be able to charge an arbitrary price for the vaccine as before, because the government has fixed the maximum price of the vaccine to be administered in private hospitals.
- Hospitals can charge a maximum of Rs 780 for a single dose of Covishield Vaccine. This vaccine is developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca and manufactured by Serum Institute in India.
- Private hospitals can charge a maximum of Rs 1145 for a single dose of Sputnik V Vaccine. This vaccine has just been imported from Russia, but Sputnik V made in India is also expected to be available soon.
- The government has given permission to private hospitals to charge a maximum of Rs 1410 for a dose of the vaccine developed in India. This indigenous vaccine is being made by private company Bharat Biotech with the help of Government of India and government institute ICMR.
- The ceiling price fixed for private hospitals includes a service charge of Rs 150 in addition to the cost of the vaccine.
- Those who are not able to register on the CoWIN portal to get the vaccine, they can also register by visiting the vaccination centers of government or private hospitals.
- The vaccine will be supplied by the central government to the states keeping in mind the factors like their population, status of spread of corona infection, progress of vaccination program and wastage of vaccine.
- The government will give priority to vaccination of health workers, frontline workers, people above 45 years of age who have to get the second dose of vaccine.
- State governments can also decide on their own priorities.
- No arrangements have been finalized so far regarding the availability of foreign vaccines like Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
- There is also talk of arranging for electronic vouchers approved by the Reserve Bank for the economically weaker sections to get vaccinated through private hospitals. These vouchers can be downloaded on mobile, which can be scanned at private vaccination centres.
