New Delhi: Even as India's 84 percent population above 15 years of age have received both doses of Covid19 vaccines, the Centre on Saturday appealed to all States and UTs to initiate planning and monitoring as well as issue necessary guidance to private Covid vaccination centers for vaccination of all eligible beneficiaries.
In a letter addressed to the additional chief secretary, principal secretary, secretary (health) of all States and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has said that the ongoing free vaccination program through government vaccination centers for the first dose and second dose to eligible population and precaution dose to health care workers, front line workers, and 60+ population would continue and must be accelerated.
Bhushan in his letter also highlighted the Centre's decision for allowing precautionary doses to all people above 18 years of age at the private vaccination centers.
To accelerate the vaccination drive, the Centre has decided to give precaution doses to all people above 18 years of age in private vaccination centers from Sunday.
"Administration of precaution dose will be homologous where the same vaccine type will be used for precaution dose which was used for vaccination of 1st and 2nd dose," Bhushan said.
He said that private CVCs can charge up to a maximum of Rs 150 per dose as a service charge over and above the cost of the vaccines. "It's not necessary for any citizen to register afresh for the administration of precaution dose (and for 2nd dose). In order to adhere to the vaccination protocol specified by the Ministry, the verifier/vaccinator must locate the existing vaccination record of the citizen, verify the identity document, administer the dose upon successful verification and record the vaccination," Bhushan said in his letter.
Bhushan said that private vaccination centers must declare their correct stock of vaccines of Co-WIN and must use the procurement module of Co-WIN for procurement of vaccine stocks.
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