Chennai, July 20(BPNS)
The Tamil Nadu health minister, Ma Subramanian has said that the state government is exploring the possibilities of providing free vaccines to people through private hospitals and reimbursing the hospitals by using Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) funds.
He was speaking to reporters at Walayar at the Tamil Nadu, Kerala border.
Ma Subramanian said that the government would hold meetings with private hospitals that are empaneled under the state government’s Comprehensive Insurance Scheme as well as with various private companies and other institutions.
The minister said that the Private hospitals were not using vaccines fully and said that while the central government was buying 75% of the vaccines manufactured in the country, 25% are earmarked for private hospitals.
Ma Subramanian while speaking to BPNS said, “The private hospitals are not using the vaccines earmarked to them. As the Covid-19 situation has become better, the government is exploring the possibility of using CSR funds for free vaccinations in private hospitals.”
Minister said that the state of Tamil Nadu requires 12 crore doses of vaccines to administer to 6 crores of its eligible population who are above 18 years of age. It has already administered 1.82 crore doses of vaccine out of the 1.86 crore doses it has received.
The state health minister also said that the state requires 10 crore doses of vaccines more for inoculating the entire eligible population of the state.
The minister along with the minister for Municipal administration R. Sakkarpani, state health secretary J. Radhakrishnan and Coimbatore district Collector G.S. Sameeran visited houses at the Walayar border to check control measures against mosquito breeding. It is to be noted that Zika virus cases are reported in Kerala and the Tamil Nadu government has taken measures to prevent the breeding of mosquitos and has given special attention in areas bordering Kerala.
Ma Subramanian had joined issue with the former Chief Minister and AIADMK leader, Edappadi K Palaniswami regarding the wastage of vaccines and said that during the DMK regime there is no vaccine wastage and nurses are in fact vaccinating the full capacity of vaccines in the vials.
