Approximately, 2.6 crore people have done their registrations for COVID-19 vaccinations in India till Tuesday and the majority of the appointments (i.e., 75%) were booked online on Co-Win app or through the Aarogya Setu app, whereas the rest were walk-ins for taking the shots.

 

58.5% of the total number of registrations accounted for men and over 41% were for women and the remaining 3,775 registrations were for another category.

 

The government has given permission to the private hospitals with required facilities to conduct COVID-19 vaccinations but only 18% of planned capacity was in the private sector and the majority of immunization sessions were organised in government hospitals as per the official data.

 

The total prearranged capacity for the day’s immunization was over 36 lakhs, however the current utilisation was approximately 60%, as per an official.

 

Out of the 22,405 sites which had conducted the vaccination sessions throughout the country on Tuesday, only 4,681 were in private hospitals and reported for 6.5 lakh planned vaccinations. 17,724 sites are in government facilities as the vaccination sessions were planned for more than 29.5 lakh.

 

Average utilisation capacity in both government and private hospitals was estimated around 60%, highlighting that the attendance in government facilities who are offering free vaccine shots does not have much difference from those in attendance in private hospitals.

 

A senior official said that there is vast scope for capacity expansion in the private sector and they are still dealing with logistical issues. There are few hospitals who are conducting vaccinations but have not created any sessions on the Co-Win platform. This is an irregularity they are trying to address because the beneficiaries are not able to book appointments.

 

India has administered more than 2.4 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccines till Tuesday evening. Out of this, 82% were first doses to healthcare and frontline workers with individuals above 60 years of age and those people between 45 and 60 years with specific co-morbidities. The rest of the vaccine doses were administered as a second dose to healthcare and frontline workers.

 

Source: ET Healthworld