Heads of corporate hospitals in Hyderabad have sought clarity on the procedure to procure COVID-19 vaccines from manufacturing firms as the government has decided to supply vaccine doses from May 1.
Since only two days are left for them to procure the vaccines, they expressed doubts over whether they can conduct the immunisation drive from Saturday which has already been impacted due insufficient stock. They said that clear guidelines on procuring the vaccines and clarity over whether State governments will aid in the procedure was still not available.
Telangana Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao said the government will not supply the doses to private hospitals from May 1, based on Central government orders.
Apart from this, another concern which has been prevailing among them for the past few weeks is the lack of sufficient vaccine stock to administer the second dose to those who got vaccinated at their hospitals.
People have been relying on government vaccination centres for inoculation. Long queues of senior citizens waiting patiently for their turn is witnessed at some of the vaccination sites. “The date for the second dose for some beneficiaries enrolled with us is scheduled for next month. Is the government going to supply the second dose or do we have to procure it ourselves? Clarity is needed since people are demanding answers from us,” said the head of a corporate hospital in western part of the city.
Heads of two more hospitals said that vaccine manufacturers have informed they will get back with the guidelines in a few days. “Hospitals which have a pan-India presence might be able to get the information on procurement. But mid-level hospitals might not be able to reach out to the manufacturers,” the CEO of a corporate hospital said.
