The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit India, with the sharp increase in active cases being very alarming. According to the COVID-19 data repository maintained by Johns Hopkins University, the number of active cases in India has increased by 333,000 on April 23 2021. Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with more than 62,000 deaths until now. Under these conditions, the Government of India has announced that vaccination for people 18 and older is going to begin from May 1 2021. This is going to be the third phase of the massive and pan-national drive for inoculation.
Registration to Start On Aarogya Setu and CoWIN Platform
Government officials have said that registrations for the vaccination are going to start on the Aarogya Setu and CoWIN platforms from April 28, 2021. According to the government, the CoWIN platform is ready to meet the increased demand when vaccination is going to be opened up to all the citizens eventually. However, private health centres will stop providing vaccinations at Rs 250 from May 1. They will procure their vaccines directly from vaccine manufacturers, who will then be able to hike up the price. This has been severely criticized by many.
Health Secretary Promises That The Vaccine Price is Going to be Monitored
The private hospitals in India will be able to get their stock of vaccines from the 50% that is not kept separate for the Government of India channel. The vaccination policy is now going to be liberalized slowly, and there are many concerns about the prices that may be charged by drug companies and private hospitals in India. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the prices being charged will be monitored by the government. HCWs, FLWs and eligible people-over-45 would continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for free.
Policy To Take Effect From May 1 Effective Immediately
States are going to receive their shares directly from the centre, depending on a number of criteria. Things such as speed of dissemination, number of active cases, etc. are all going to play a major role in the number of vaccines received by the state. The vaccines that are being given by the GoI channel will be administered under the guidelines set by the National Vaccination Programme. The CoWIN platform will be used to administer vaccines to eligible individuals under the GoI umbrella. This policy will be reviewed periodically from now.