Most pvt hospitals in Pune stay cautious about administering precautionary dose

Most hospitals said that the cut down in price and the poor response has discouraged them to continue with the vaccination drive

PUNE On the first day, since the government allowed precautionary doses for beneficiaries of 18 to 59 years of age, almost all private hospitals stayed away from administering the booster dose to the younger beneficiaries.Most hospitals said that the cut down in price and the poor response to the overall vaccination drive in private hospitals has discouraged them to continue with the vaccination drive. However, a few have expressed their readiness to begin the vaccination drive once the system is put in place.

On the first day, since the government allowed precautionary doses for beneficiaries of 18 to 59 years of age, almost all private hospitals stayed away from administering the booster dose to the younger beneficiaries. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Dr H K Sale, executive director at Noble Hospital said, “We are not going to start the precautionary dose vaccination drive for those aged between 18-59 years as it is no longer profitable. We had purchased excess stock at a higher cost during the pandemic which was wasted in the last few months. Now, the public is no longer interested in paying for the vaccine and taking it from private hospitals.”

Dr Sanjay Lalwani, medical director at Bharatiya hospital said, “We will not start Covid-19 vaccination anymore as the response for the vaccination drive is not good. It would be a loss for us.”

However, a few hospitals have expressed interest in starting the vaccination drive. Dr Vijay Natarajan, CEO of the Symbiosis hospital said, “We will start the drive once the system is in place and we would be able to vaccinate the third dose. We have called Serum Institute and we are expecting a reply from them and once the CoWin system is in place we will begin with the third dose for all above 18 years of age.”

Dr Avdhot Bodamwad, medical superintendent at Ruby Hall Clinic said, “We will also soon start the vaccination drive hopefully in this week itself. Today being Sunday we could not start it.”

Most private hospitals have expressed concerns on the cutting down of price and also the lack of interest among people to take the third dose especially now that most of the population has either been infected or has been vaccinated.