By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday said that more private hospitals will be utilized to increase the speed and coverage of COVID-19 vaccination in the coming days.
Responding to a query during a press briefing here, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said out of 10,000 hospitals being used for administering the vaccines in a day, 2,000 hospitals are private.
“Approximately 10,000 hospitals are being used for administering vaccines in a day. Out of these, 2,000 hospitals are private. This shows how essential is the private sector and it plays the role of a force multiplier which is acknowledge by the government. In the coming days, more private sector hospitals will be utilized to increase the vaccination coverage and speed,” Bhushan said.
He also said that private sector is playing a vital role in many of the government’s health programs.
“Out of the 24,000 hospitals under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojna which are providing cashless treatment, 11,000 hospitals are of private sector. From last two years private sector is involved. Similarly, the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) is completely based on private sector except the dispensaries. More than 800 private hospitals are already a part of CGHS,” Bhushan said.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers in the country has crossed 1.19 crore, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.
A total of 1,19,07,392 vaccine doses have been administered through 2,53,434 sessions till 6 pm on Tuesday, according to a provisional report.
The beneficiaries include 64,71,047 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose, 13,21,635 HCWs who have taken the second dose and 41,14,710 frontline workers (FLWs) who have taken the first dose.
While the countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16, the vaccination of FLWs started from February 2.
“A total 1,61,840 vaccine doses were given till 6 pm on Tuesday, the 39th day of nationwide COVID-19 vaccination. Out of which, 98,382 beneficiaries were vaccinated for 1st dose and 63,458 HCWs received 2nd dose of vaccine as per the provisional report,” the ministry said, adding that the final reports for the day would be compiled by late night.
A total of 8,557 sessions were conducted till 6 pm on Tuesday.
The ministry said five adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs) related to the first dose and three cases of AEFI related to the second dose of the vaccine were reported till 6 pm on the 39th day of the vaccination drive.
The total number of 1,19,07,392 beneficiaries vaccinated includes 5,82,966 from Bihar, 4,68,145 from Kerala, 7,20,392 from Karnataka, 6,75,401 from Madhya Pradesh, 10,03,706 from Maharashtra, 3,41,283 from Delhi, 9,01,400 from Gujarat, 12,26,775 from Uttar Pradesh and 7,60,539 from West Bengal, according to the provisional report.
