On Wednesday, health minister Harsh Vardhan said that the government has allowed round-the-clock immunizations at hospitals with extra capacity and resources. It will allow people to schedule their appointments and increase the pace of vaccination against COVID-19.

 

As understanding with procedures increases, more hospitals can activate their links to the Co-Win portal. Above 6.9 lakh doses were administered till 7pm on the third day of the 2nd phase of vaccinations, which is being extended to people more than 60 years and between 45-60 years with specific comorbidities who are at an increased risk from the infection.

 

Vardhan had tweeted that the government has lifted the time limit to increase the pace of vaccination. According to the convenience, people can get vaccinated 24x7. PM Narendra Modi knows the value of health and time of citizens. However, the extension of immunization timings will depend on hospitals and their capacity and decisions taken by the states.

 

In an immediate recompense of issues such as overcrowding, unavailability of vacancies at private hospitals or delay in receiving OTPs, non-scheduling of appointments, the government has taken a series of measures and has allowed all private hospitals with enough facilities to join the vaccination initiative. At first, only those private hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat, state health insurance schemes and CGHS were involved in vaccination.

 

The government has also relaxed the 9am to 5pm slot for sessions and allowed hospitals to organise sessions beyond 5pm with flexibility on the Co-Win platform and was announced on Tuesday. Hospitals having large scale infrastructure along with trained resources can organise several sessions that are spread throughout the day.

 

Officials also said that the number of immunization sessions will rise by the end of this week as the empanelled hospitals are preparing and more hospitals may join the programme.

 

Source: ET Healthworld