Karnataka govt caps service fee Covid 19 vaccine at Rs 200

Bengaluru: After the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA) requested the State government to increase the service charge for Covid-19 vaccines from Rs 100 to Rs 300, the government on Thursday capped the service charge for Covid-19 vaccines at Rs 200 per jab, up from the earlier Rs 100.

"Considering many requests received, GoK has decided to cap service charges of vaccine administration by pvt hospitals at 200 per dose.

All hospitals hereby are directed to strictly abide by the guidelines & help in easing the vaccination process," Deputy Chief Minister Ashwathnarayan said.

The association said that the cost incurred by the hospitals including logistics, PPE and storage among other needs for vaccination expenses cannot be covered under Rs 100 per dose as the cost itself will cross more than Rs 250 per dose.

On May 23, in a letter to the DCM, Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya had requested to formulate a policy to standardise vaccination administration charges for all private hospitals in Bengaluru.

He had apprised Ashwathnarayan that several hospitals were either not aware of the earlier capping of service fee at Rs 100 or the order was not being enforced.