73% Of Citizens Want State Govt To Cap Registration Fee Levied By Pvt Hospital: Survey

Citizens who are trying to get the jab by visiting private hospitals or where the vaccine is being administered at community centers, etc. have been charged Rs 1500 - 2000 for one dose of Covaxin and between Rs 1000 - 1200 for one dose of Covishield.

Representational Image (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: The third phase of the vaccination drive was to begin on May 1st, however, most states weren't able to kickstart their vaccination drive because they just didn't have enough vaccine stock. Before the third phase began two companies supplying vaccines to India revised the price of the vaccines.

While the Central government continued to offer free vaccines, many citizens from around the country who are trying to get the jab by visiting private hospitals or where the vaccine is being administered at community centers, neighbourhoods, etc. have reported being charged Rs 1500 - 2000 for one dose of Covaxin and between Rs 1000 - 1200 for one dose of Covishield.

Covishield developed by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech sell their vaccine to the Centre at Rs 150 while the States must pay Rs 300 and Rs 600 for these doses respectively. Private hospitals, on the other hand can procure a dose of Covishield at Rs 600 and Covaxin at Rs1,200.

In a survey conducted by LocalCircles, about 23% of respondents said that they had to pay Rs 1000 or more for a single dose of vaccine. "Several reports being received from citizens stating that they have been charged Rs1000-1200 for a Covishield dose and Rs 1500 – 2000 for a Covaxin dose," stated the report. When asked, “How much did you or your family member pay for COVID vaccine dose via a private healthcare facility/service provider?” Out of the 8,385 responses 60% said they paid “Between Rs 250-500”, 11% said “Between Rs 500-1000”, and 20 % said “Between Rs1000-2000.” 3% citizens stated that they paid “Rs 2000 or more”, while 6% couldn’t say.

In a question that tried to understand whether people believed the State governments should cap per dose service charge at private hospitals. Out of the 9,021 responses, 41% said “should be capped at Rs 200 at hospital, Rs 400 at colony/society/office/home etc.” 32% said “should be capped at Rs 100 at hospital, Rs 200 at colony/society/office/homes etc.” 9% said “should be capped at Rs 500 at hospital, Rs 100 at colony/society/office/home etc,” while another 9% said “should not be capped” and 9% couldn’t say. The findings indicate that citizens want private hospital service charges for COVID vaccine to be capped at Rs 100-200 at hospitals, and Rs 200-400 at offsite inoculation locations such as community centers, societies, colonies, etc. 

When citizens visit hospitals for OPD or admission, many times they are made to pay a registration fee and many hospitals have started charging the same fee for those seeking COVID vaccine. The next question asked citizens, “Should State Governments prohibit private hospitals from levying a registration charge for COVID vaccine dose?” In response, 79% citizens said “yes,” only 13% said no while 8% couldn’t say. This question in the survey received 9,063 responses.

All medicines are required to have a Maximum Retail Price on the packaging to ensure that the consumer is not overcharged. On being asked whether the Government should make it mandatory for vaccine manufacturers to publish on every vial its maximum retail price (MRP) as the highest price that can be charged to citizens. Out of the 8,518 responses, 83% said yes. Only 12% said no, while 5% did not have an opinion. 

Finally, the findings of the survey indicate that 23% of citizens paid above INR 1000 for a single dose of Covid vaccine and 3% citizens claimed to have paid over Rs 2000 indicating that vaccine profiteering by private hospitals has already started. The private hospitals are purchasing Covishield for Rs 600 and Covaxin for Rs 1200 but many citizens have reported paying over Rs 1000 for Covishield with the premium charged in form of service charge and/or registration charge. 73% citizens are keen that their State Government caps private hospital service charges for COVID vaccine at Rs 100-200 (at hospital) and Rs 200-400 (offsite at societies, colonies/offices/clubs) and 79% citizens also want their State Government to prohibit private hospitals from levying a registration charge for COVID vaccine administration.