Vaccine drive for 45+ set to improve in Telangana

Majority of private hospitals, who were facing difficulties in sourcing vaccines, expected to launch drive in the next few days

Hyderabad: After facing days of supply constraints, the Covid-19 vaccination drive for individuals above 45 years is showing signs of gradually limping back to normalcy in government hospitals while a majority of private hospitals, who were facing difficulties in sourcing the vaccines, are expected to launch in the next few days.

On Thursday, vaccination slots at almost all the Government Covid Vaccination Centres (GCVCs) in the State were reserved, as eligible individuals waited patiently outside the makeshift ‘pandals’ for their turn. At least two major super-speciality hospitals including Apollo Hospitals and Global Hospitals in Hyderabad have managed to launch the Covid vaccination for individuals above 45 years today.

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In private hospitals, Covaxin is being administered for Rs 1,250 and Covishield for Rs 850. “Private hospitals have started vaccinating across the country but availability of the vaccine is a challenge. If vaccine is available between public and private sector, a large section of the population can be vaccinated within a short period of time. The focus therefore needs to be on availability of vaccine as the public and private sectors together have the capability to vaccinate large sections of our population across the country within a short period of time,” says president, Apollo Group – Hospitals, Dr K Hari Prasad.

Public health officials familiar with the issue have said that by this weekend all other major super-speciality hospitals in Hyderabad and in the districts will launch Covid vaccination, which will ease the demand.

On Thursday, there was heavy rush at GCVCs, as large number of individuals turned up for their second dose of vaccine. For the next few days, senior doctors pointed out that similar trend will be visible, as there is a huge cohort of individuals who have not received the second dose of the Covid vaccine.

At the District Hospital, King Koti, several beneficiaries who had booked their slot for the afternoon session had to return, as officials struggled to complete the vaccination of the previous batch on time. In contrast, small centres like Urban Primary Health Centres (PHCs) were witnessing smooth functioning, with beneficiaries getting vaccinated in 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, health care and frontline workers in government hospitals have urged authorities to allow walk-ins or on-site registrations for them, as there were many senior doctors, nurses and teaching staff in tertiary hospitals who were yet to be vaccinated.