5.86-crore free vaccine doses to States, UTs

New Delhi: According to the advance visibility provided by the Centre to states and UTs, a total of 5.86 crore Covid vaccine doses will be provided free of cost to them from May 1 to June 15, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

In addition, as per information received from vaccine manufacturers, a total of 4.87 crore doses will also be available till June end for direct procurement by states and UTs, the ministry said. In view of the above visibility of vaccines with clear supply timelines till June and in order to ensure efficient and judicious utilisation of available doses for successful implementation of the vaccination drive, the states and UTs have been advised to prepare a district-wise, Covid Vaccination Centre (CVC)-wise plan for administration of vaccines.

They were advised to use multiple media platforms for dissemination of such a plan to enhance awareness among the masses, to ensure that there is no overcrowding at the CVCs and that the process of booking appointments on CoWIN is hassle-free, a ministry statement said. Both state governments and private CVCs have been advised to publish their vaccination calendar on CoWIN digital platform in advance and to desist from publishing single-day vaccination calendars.

The states and UTs have been advised to direct the officials concerned to prepare an advance plan for administration of Covid-19 vaccine till June 15, the statement said. The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, it said.

The Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy has been implemented from May 1.

As part of the strategy, every month 50 per cent of the total Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) cleared vaccine doses would be procured by the Centre and it would continue to make them available to state governments totally free of cost, as was being done earlier.

In addition to this, every month remaining 50 per cent of the CDL cleared vaccine doses would be available for direct procurement by the state governments and private hospitals. The Union Health Ministry has been providing advance information on availability of COVID vaccine doses to be supplied to the states and UTs during the two fortnights of the month, and also the amount available for direct procurement from the manufacturers by the state and the private hospitals, the statement said. The prime minister highlighted this in his interaction with state and district officials on the COVID-19 situation on Tuesday, it said.

The Union Health Ministry has again written to states and UTs on allocation of Covid vaccine doses (for both Covishield and Covaxin) for May and the first fortnight of June from Government of India channel, which is available free of cost, and availability of vaccine doses that can be procured directly by states and private hospitals during months of May and June. This advance visibility will enable better and more effective planning by the states, the statement added.