Hyderabad: Corporate hospitals in hurry to jab kids with Covid vaccination

Hyderabad: With an eye to make big money, private hospitals in the city have launched a campaign on the need for child vaccination against Covid-19 for those in the age group of 2-18. The approval is expected within next two or three weeks.

The hospitals are putting up banners proclaiming, 'The wait is Almost Over', with the tagline; Pre-book your child's Covid-19 jab at India's largest vaccinator. One such hospital Rainbow Children's Hospital is asking parents to fill in the basic details like Name, Age, Gender and vaccine preference (Covaxin/ Zydus).

Apollo Hospitals president Dr K Hari Prasad said, "We are making the arrangements for the vaccination of adolescents. Just waiting for the Government's approval. As of now, we are not taking any pre-registrations."

These hospitals are reaching out to the parents via corporates, community-based organisations, and schools. It has started this approach in the cities like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru and Chennai. However, all this is with a disclaimer saying vaccination is subject to the Government approval and procedural guidelines.

When asked, the authorities concerned said that the government was waiting for the guidelines from the Centre. The private hospitals seem to be communicating to people about the facility to be made available at the hospitals in anticipation that they would also be made partners in the programme. The adolescent vaccination process in the country, will be decided on the basis of the vaccine company's manufacturing capacity and the distribution of doses among the States and the Union Territories, the sources said.

It may be mentioned here that the Central Government is yet to issue guidelines for distribution and administering the vaccine. When the inoculation drive for adults was launched in the month of January, vaccines were administered only at the government health facilities. At the end of May, private hospitals were permitted to offer the services.