Vaccination at several small private hospitals and health care clinics in Chennai has come to a halt due to the short supply of vaccines and lack of clarity on its procurement from the manufacturers.

Several small and mid-level private hospitals and clinics said they had either stopped vaccinations or put them on hold.

“The earlier system was good. The government was supplying hospitals and we were just vaccinating people. Suddenly, the government has passed on the responsibility to institutions to buy vaccines directly, hampering the whole process,” a spokesperson of a private hospital said.

While opening up vaccination for everyone above 18 years from May 1, the Centre had allowed producers to supply half their capacity to States and private hospitals at a pre-declared price. In the process, small healthcare institutions and clinics are feeling edged out, unable to match the negotiation skills of larger healthcare organisations as they compete for a small stock of vaccines available with the companies.

No formal communication

Private healthcare players in Tamil Nadu say there is no formal communication on vaccine availability, distribution and prioritisation. Large hospitals with a pan-India presence are able to negotiate with the manufacturers for supplies, while the small and mid-size private hospitals are either completely clueless about the procedure or do not have the wherewithal to negotiate terms with these pharma giants.

“It is not practically easy for a small guy to reach out to manufacturers. Ideally, the government should have continued the supply for some more time till the private sector figured out a procurement mechanism,” a spokesperson of a large private hospital said.

Plight of States

Meanwhile, States like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are seeing the private sector vaccinate even the 18-45 year age group, albeit with limited stocks. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, however, has written to the Prime Minister to stop the direct supply of vaccines to private hospitals by vaccine makers.

But in Telangana, the vaccination programme had stopped (in government and private hospitals) a week ago due to the non-availability of vaccines, specially Covaxin. A couple of private hospitals though administered doses for a few days.

In Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the capital would halt vaccination for the 18-44 age group and shut vaccination centres from Saturday evening on account of vaccine shortage. Citizens going to private hospitals complained that only large hospitals were visible on the app to book slots, the neighbourhood nursing homes were missing.

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