Private Hospitals as COVID Vaccination Centres: Here is the process of empanelment, vaccination procedure

New Delhi: With the process of mass vaccination against the coronavirus moving to its next stage,the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently explained the Process of Empanelment of Private Hospitals as COVID Vaccination Centres. In a release, the government highlighted the Process of Advance Self Registration, On-Site Registration and Facilitated Cohort Registration of potential beneficiaries

This came after the Shri Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary along with Dr. R. S. Sharma, Chairman of Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration (Co-WIN) and member, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID-19 (NEGVAC) chaired a high-level meeting with Health Secretaries and MDs (NHM) of States and UTs on the vaccination of age-appropriate groups through a video conference (VC).

The nationwide COVID-19 Vaccination drive was launched on 16th January, 2021. This is now to be exponentially expanded to the following age-groups from 1st March, 2021: 

i) all citizens above 60 years of age, and

ii) those within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities

It was pointed out that all COVID Vaccination Centers (CVCs) must be health facilities as under:

(i) Government health facilities such as SHCs, PHCs, CHCs, Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, Sub-Division Hospitals, District Hospitals and Medical College Hospitals.

(ii) All Private Hospitals empanelled under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PM JAY) and similar State Health Insurance Schemes.

States/UTs were asked to ensure that the private health facilities mandatorily must have the following for using them as COVID Vaccination Centres

(i) They must have adequate space for the vaccination process, as detailed in the comprehensive SOPs issued by the Ministry;

(ii) They must have basic cold chain equipments for storing the vaccine vials;

(iii) They must have their own team of vaccinators and staff;

(iv) They must have adequate facility for management of any AEFI cases.

All beneficiaries, regardless of the mode of access, must be advised to carry any one of the following photo ID document:

• Aadhar Card

• Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC)

• The Photo ID card specified at the time of registration in case of online registration (if not Aadhar or EPIC)

• Certificate of co-morbidity for citizens in age group of 45 years to 59 years (signed by a registered medical practitioner)

• Employment certificate/ Official Identity Card – (either but with photo and date of birth) for HCWs and FLWs

The States and UTs have explained the simplified process of registration, which shall be through three routes:

(i) Advance Self-Registration:

The beneficiaries will be able to self-register in advance by downloading the CO-Win 2.0 portal and through other IT Applications such as Arogya Setu etc. This will show the Government and private hospitals serving as COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs) with the date and time of the available schedules. The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination.

(ii) On-site Registration:

The facility of On-Site registration allows those who cannot self-register in advance to walk into the identified COVID Vaccination Centres and get themselves registered on-site and then vaccinated. 

(iii) Facilitated Cohort Registration:

To view the official notice click on the following link:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/hfw-secretary-vc-age-groups-vaccination-26th-february-2021-3-148858.pdf