The Chief Minister has said that the current policy of 25% allocation to private hospitals is grossly higher when compared to the actual vaccinations done by them.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday, June 28, wrote to the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asking the Union government to increase the allocation of vaccines to Tamil Nadu and also increase the sub-allocation of vaccines procured by the Union for the states to 90% instead of the existing 75%. The TN Chief Minister’s letter came on a day the Chennai Corporation had to pause vaccinations in its centres owing to a shortage.
The Chief Minister has asked that the allocation between the government and private institutions be revised to 90:10 as against the current allocation of 75:25, stating that the remaining 25% allocation to private hospitals is grossly higher when compared to the actual vaccinations done by them. Currently, under the vaccination policy, the Union Government is buying 75% of the total number of vaccines and is procuring and distributing vaccines directly for the states, and the rest of the 25% are being provided to private hospitals.
“While I agree that a part of the available vaccines has to be shared with the private institutions, I wish to bring to your notice the fact that this 25% allocation to private hospitals is grossly higher when compared to the actual vaccinations done by them. In Tamil Nadu, 1.43 crore doses have been totally used, out of which private hospitals have used only 6.5 lakh doses, which translates to just 4.5%. Even in the current month, out of 43.5 lakh doses administered in the State, private institutions have contributed to only 4.5 lakh doses which is just 10%,” Stalin said.
This is leading to a shortage in government centres, Stalin said, while private hospitals are left with a surplus and not as many people to vaccinate. Stalin also said that the allotment of 25% of vaccines produced to private hospitals may be to incentivise manufacturers, by allowing them to sell a portion at a comparatively better price, but this should not undermine India’s immediate goal of vaccinating our people at the maximum possible speed.
“The mismatch between demand and supply in government and private institutions has resulted in a situation where the private hospitals in Tamil Nadu have around 7-8 lakh doses available with them, which is equivalent to one month’s performance, whereas government institutions are left with just 2 lakh doses, which is lesser than their current single day usage. This can be rectified only by a more rational and performance-based distribution of available doses,” the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister added.
CM Stalin has also asked the Health Ministry to evaluate the vaccine doses allotted to various states so far, in terms of doses allotted per thousand population, and ensure that necessary compensatory allocations are made to states who have been allotted a lower number of doses per capita.
“The availability of vaccines has emerged as the principal constraint in the last few weeks after the above pick up in vaccination. This is particularly significant for us since our allotment so far has been one of the lowest among the States in the country in terms of doses per thousand population,” Stalin said in his letter. He added that he had written to the Health Minister requesting an allocation of 1 crore doses to correct the inadequate allotment in the past. “This has not been done, and the incremental increase in allocation for June- July is just in line with the increases made available to other States, who had got higher allotment in the past and therefore have already vaccinated more people,” Stalin said, reiterating his earlier request.
Source: The News Minute