Pvt centres in Bihar concerned about charging for Covid vaccine while govt jabs free

Amid uncertainty of footfall and no return policy, most private hospitals are now cagey about blocking their money by paying upfront for bulk order of vaccines

Private healthcare facilities are shying away from participating in the government’s Covid-19 vaccination drive in the absence of clarity on the return of unused vaccine vials. Meanwhile, the government wants private players to buy the vaccines and charge a fee from beneficiaries, while administering the doses free of cost at its own centres.

Representational image.

Amid uncertainty of footfall and no return policy, most private hospitals are now cagey about blocking their money by paying upfront for bulk order of vaccines.

“We have placed an initial order for limited 50 doses or five vials of Covishield because we are not sure about their consumption, given the fact that the jabs are free at government centres while private centres like ours will charge fee from the beneficiaries who come for inoculation,” said Dr Shaswat Kumar, medical director of the Medipark Healthcare Pvt Ltd in New Patliputra Colony, Patna.

“We had inoculated around 10,000 beneficiaries between February and April when the government was supplying us the vaccines free of cost. Later, it changed the policy (on May 1), and made the vaccines chargeable at private centres. Enquiries for vaccination at our facility have reduced since then,” added Dr Kumar.

The Netaji Subhash Medical College Hospital (NSMCH) at Bihta had also ordered only 50 doses of Covishield on a trial basis.

“We ordered a small quantity of vaccines because of some confusion as the government authorities told us that the indent required to be placed was only for the last four days of June. The supply is already delayed. We are ready to place fresh orders of over 500 doses for July. We will, however, appreciate if the government comes out with a return policy for unused vials of vaccine, which otherwise dissuades us from placing bulk orders,” said Dr Uday Kumar, medical superintendent of the NSMCH and former principal of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, an autonomous institute under the government of Bihar.

The Mahavir Vaatsalya hospital and the Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, run by the Mahavir temple trust in Patna, had placed orders for Covishield 100 doses each.

The nodal officer for Covid-19 vaccination at the Mahavir Vaatsalya hospital Dr Upendra Prasad Sinha was critical of the government frequently changing its policy.

“If the government wanted to put a cap on the minimum order for vaccines, it should have told us earlier. Why did they accept our advance payment towards the end of June and come up with fresh guidelines by July 3. Revising our order will lead to further delay in arrival of vaccines. There is no clarity on return of unused vaccine vials either,” said Dr Sinha.

The SS Hospital in Patna had placed an order for 10 doses of Covishield, which is just one vial of the vaccine.

A senior functionary of the BIG Apollo hospital was critical of the frequent changes in the vaccine policy and the delay on the part of the state government in allotment of coronavirus vaccine centre (CVC) identity number. The hospital has purchased vaccines through its corporate office in Hyderabad and was inoculating people for a fee, which the government had capped at a maximum price per dose of ₹780 for Covishield, ₹1,410 for Covaxin and ₹1,145 for Suptnik V.

Manoj Kumar, executive director of the State Health Society, Bihar, said in light of the revised guidelines, private players seeking a low number of doses will be asked to revise their order.

The government, last Saturday, revised the vaccine procurement guidelines for the third time in as many months, specifying the minimum consignment size for dispatch of vaccines.

As per the new rules, each private facility, empanelled for vaccination with the state government or the Union territory, has to order minimum 500 doses of Covishield and 160 doses of Covaxin.

Similarly, a vaccine consignment has to be of minimum 6,000 doses of Covishield and 2,880 doses of Covaxin for dispatch to the state government, said Kumar.

A senior government officer, handling vaccination, said the Central government order was silent on the return policy of unused vaccine vials.

Amid uncertainty, only 10 of the 76 private health facilities empanelled with the state government for Covid-19 vaccination had so far paid in advance for cumulative 3,010 doses of vaccines, of which 2,660 doses were Covishield and 350 Covaxin.