Private hospitals in Bengaluru seek state govt’s help to procure vaccines

The health bulletin noted a significant drop in the number of people getting inoculated — from 1.23 lakh on Wednesday to 21,425 on Thursday.

By: Express Web Desk

Bengaluru | May 7, 2021 09:31 AM IST

3 min read

People queue up outside a vaccination centre in Bengaluru. (PTI)

The Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association in Bengaluru has written to the Chief Secretary seeking the government’s help to procure vaccines as hospitals across the city scramble to get new stocks.

Thursday’s letter stated that most private hospitals, except for a couple of corporate chains, had no vaccines since May 1. “Help us get the vaccines at the earliest, at least for the second dose individuals till the stocks are more freely available,” the letter read.

The association also urged the government to temporarily stop inoculating people in the 18-44 age group so that they could concentrate on those who are due for their second doses.

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“Many patients, especially in the 60-plus and vulnerable groups, are repeatedly calling our hospitals. Vaccination centres are getting flooded with calls as people get angry over the unavailability of the vaccines,” the Association noted.

The health bulletin issued also noted a significant drop in the number of people getting inoculated — from 1.23 lakh on Wednesday to 21,425 on Thursday. The number stood at 36,344 on Tuesday and 59,918 on Monday.

Equally distributing vaccine to all wards: BBMP Chief Commissioner

Meanwhile, the Chief Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike said vaccines allocated by the state government for the capital city were being “equally distributed” across all wards.

However, he admitted, “We have asked staff at the primary health centres to administer vaccines to only those above 45 years of age. BBMP had received 20,000 vaccines from the state government on Thursday and another 60,000 on Wednesday.”

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Another senior officer in the municipal body said, “We are managing with what we have and we are aware of the situation at the ground level. To avoid crowds, we have asked vaccination centres to notify which vaccine is available by placing boards outside.”

On the other hand, the Department of Health and Family Welfare has capped service charge for vaccines at private hospitals at Rs 100, besides the cost of the shot that has been fixed by the Centre.

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