With the Union govt procuring 75% of the vaccines from manufacturers, the remaining 25% has been earmarked for private hospitals since June 21.
The Union Health Ministry has allowed KMSCL (Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd), a fully owned Kerala government company, to purchase 10 lakh Covishield doses from the 25% quantity earmarked monthly for private hospitals with a rider they be administered only at private facilities, official sources said on Monday. Amid a rise in daily COVID-19 cases in the southern state, the KMSCL had approached the Serum Institute of India (SII) earlier this month to procure Covishield doses for vaccinating undergraduates and postgraduates in the state through the private sector. Following this, SII's Government and Regulatory Affairs Director Prakash Kumar Singh sought an approval from the health ministry to fulfill the purchase order. "Following a deliberation, the health ministry has decided to allow the purchase of the doses by KMSCL from the Serum Institute at the rate of Rs 630 per dose, from the 25% of the monthly production earmarked for purchase by private hospitals," an official source said. However, it has been communicated to the state that these doses should be administered at private hospitals only and recorded on the CoWIN portal, the source added. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is visiting Kerala to review the COVID-19 situation in the state. The Union Government’s earlier vaccine policy had asked states and private hospitals to procure 50% of the vaccines for money, directly from the manufacturers, while it only gave out the remaining 50% for free. At a time when the Union Government had come under criticism over transferring the entire burden of vaccinating those below 45 years of age unto the states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the revision of the vaccine procurement guidelines on June 8. Under the revised guidelines which came into effect from June 21, the Union Government has started procuring 75% of the vaccines from manufacturers in the country, to distribute it to states for free. The remaining 25% of the vaccines produced by vaccine manufacturers can be bought directly by the private hospitals. Kerala is presently accounting for more than half of the nation's daily fresh infection caseload. On Sunday, it reported 18,582 new COVID-19 cases while the overall number for the country was 32,937. The state's positivity rate was an alarming 15.11% on Sunday. (With PTI input)
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