After deciding on ramping up the vaccination drive nation-wide, the Centre on Tuesday capped the charges for administration of Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V in private hospitals. A private hospital can charge Rs 780, Rs 1,410 and Rs 1,145 for administration of Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V respectively.
This move is seen as an attempt to stop private hospitals from over-charging patients in the name of vaccination.
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The Central government on Tuesday also said that it has decided to increase the supply of two made-in-India vaccines - Covishield and Covaxin.
In his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday announced a centralised Covid-19 vaccine policy. He also announced that from June 21, all citizens above the age of 18 years will get free vaccines, and asserted that vaccine supply would be increased significantly in the country in the coming days. “Work on producing an intranasal vaccine for Covid is also happening,” he said.
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“The government has placed an order to purchase 25 crores doses of Covishield and 19 crore doses of Covaxin. It has also placed an order to purchase 30 crore doses of Biological E's vaccine, which will be available by September,” Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog said.