States to decide private hospital doses under new vaccine procurement policy

Private hospitals will raise demand for vaccines from state governments, rather than vaccine makers, as new guidelines come into effect from June 21.

Girdhar Gyani, director general, Association of Healthcare Providers India (AHPI), said that according to new guidelines, state governments will fix the quota of doses for private hospitals depending on demand, past vaccination performance and population base, among others. “So, all the hospitals that want to vaccinate will have the opportunity to apply, but the final decision about quantity will be taken by the state government,” Gyani said.

Hospitals will remit money on the National Health Authority (NHA) portal, from where it will be sent to the manufacturer.


Private hospitals are, however, waiting for clearer direction from the government. “There are still no black and white directions from the government, but our understanding is that the Centre will allocate it to the states and states will take the final call on the distribution,” said a senior executive with the leading private hospital.

Under revised guidelines, the Centre will procure 75% of the Covid-19 vaccines being produced.

The Centre will distribute vaccines to the states, to be administered free. Private hospitals will be able to access the remaining 25%.

To enable smaller hospitals to obtain timely supply of vaccines, the state government will, from June 21, aggregate demand of private hospitals keeping in mind equitable distribution and regional balance. Based on this aggregated demand, the government will facilitate supply to private hospitals and payment through NHA’s electronic platform.

Gyani also said Serum Institute of India (SII), manufacturer of Covishield, has stopped taking new orders of vaccines from private hospitals. “SII is not entertaining any new order. Only orders where payments have already been made are being fulfilled. It has categorically told us that the next round of procurement will be routed through the state governments,” he told ET.

As per the new vaccine pricing norms, private hospitals will buy Covishield at Rs 630 per dose and Covaxin at Rs 1,260 per dose, administering them at Rs 780 and Rs 1,410, respectively.

AHPI has, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, proposed the government procure 100% vaccines and give the 25% quota free to private hospitals for administering them at Rs 150 per dose. “Even Rs 150 can be raised through CSR contributions and funds,” said Gyani. This will help overcome hesitancy and meet the needs of people living below the poverty line.