New Delhi: People waiting to get vaccinated in Delhi will now have to count on private hospitals and resident welfare associations (RWAs) after the Arvind Kejriwal government Monday announced it was closing all 400 government vaccination centres for the 18-44 years age group and Covaxin centres for healthcare and frontline workers above 45 in light of the vaccine shortage.
However, this has amplified concerns for people who have been struggling to use the CoWIN platform to book a slot. Available in English, the website is a centralised system for registering oneself and booking a vaccine slot. Given that it requires reading/understanding English and access to the internet and a computer system/smartphone, the platform has been facing criticism of being exclusionary.
Twin brothers Raghuvir and Mahavir, both in their early 20s, who take turns to run a rickshaw rented by their parents, are worried since they haven’t been able to get vaccinated. “At first we couldn’t book slots since we don’t know how to do it and now you are saying we will have to pay for it until government centres open,” Raghuvir told ThePrint, speaking in Hindi.
With their earnings taking a massive hit since the pandemic and lockdown, they were counting on the “sui (injection)” to improve the situation.
Private hospitals have been charging for the vaccines, cost for which ranges from Rs 800 to Rs 1300 depending on the vaccine, unlike government centres, where vaccines were being administered at no cost.
Shalini, a 34-year-old who works as domestic help, said, “Mereko waise hi log ghar par kam karne ke liye nahi bula rahe, ab tikka nahi lagega toh kaise manaoongi unko (People aren’t allowing me to come to work at their homes anymore. How will I convince them if I can’t get the vaccine shot?)?”
The mother of one and resident of Zamrudpur in South Delhi added that she can’t afford getting the vaccine at a private hospital for both her husband and herself.
The Delhi government, meanwhile, said it had contacted Moderna and Pfizer to get more vaccines to restart its vaccination drive, but the pharmaceutical companies allegedly refused to sell to the city government and instead want to directly deal with the central government.
According to Delhi’s latest vaccination bulletin, released Monday evening by AAP MLA Atishi, the national capital received 1.5 lakh Covishield doses for the 45 plus age group, which will last up to 14 days. Currently, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and SII’s Covishield are the two vaccines being administered in Delhi.
Delhi’s Vaccination Bulletin for 24th May. pic.twitter.com/IJ4wp0JJoW
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) May 24, 2021
Meanwhile, multiple private hospitals confirmed to ThePrint that they have sufficient stock to inoculate people against Covid-19, though none specified for how long these stocks could last.
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Private hospitals, RWAs lead vaccination efforts now
Fortis Healthcare, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Apollo Hospital, Ganga Ram Hospital and Madhukar Rainbow Hospital are among the few private hospitals that are continuing their vaccination programs.
Dr Shalini, nodal vaccination officer at Ganga Ram Hospital, told ThePrint: “We are vaccinating people against Covid-19 and will continue to as we have sufficient stock at the moment.” Hospital authorities say they have enough supply of Covaxin. However, she didn’t specify how much stock was available.
A statement from Fortis Healthcare Delhi, sent in response to queries sent via text message, said: “We have successfully initiated vaccination drive across our network hospitals. Depending on the availability of the stocks, we will ramp up the drive.”
The Fortis Network has also started vaccination camps for various RWAs and corporates across major cities. “With vaccine manufacturers increasing their production capacity, we are hopeful that vaccine availability may improve in the next 3 to 4 weeks,” the statement added.
At these drives, hospitals and RWAs register residents on CoWIN based on details provided by residents in a virtual document circulated by RWAs. These Google forms require basic personal details such as name, age, contact number, dose required, gender and Aadhaar number, according to some of the residents who signed up for a shot. The facility is also being extended to friends/families of residents who live in other areas.
Madhukar Rainbow Hospital is also among the hospitals collaborating with RWAs apart from vaccinating people at the hospital. Hospital authorities said it is scheduled to hold a mobile vaccination drive Tuesday in South Delhi’s Navjivan Vihar followed by Geetanjali Enclave among few more areas.
The maternity hospital is also conducting special awareness drives about vaccinations for lactating mothers and pregnant women.
Sources at the Max Hospital told ThePrint that the hospital has enough Covishield stock for the time being, and that it is collaborating with corporates to vaccinate employees. However, the hospital refused to comment on this when ThePrint reached its public relations officer via calls and message.
The Apollo hospital spokesperson confirmed to ThePrint the hospital had sufficient supply of Covishield at the moment. However, at Moolchand Hospital, vaccinations were stopped when the third national vaccination phase began this month. Hospital Medical Superintendent Madhu Handa said, “Our site is closed down from 1st May due to non availability of vaccines from the manufacturers. SII and Bharat Biotech are not able to supply to private hospitals currently.”
(Edited by Manasa Mohan)
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