Amid vaccine shortage in India, various private hospitals in collaboration with luxury hotels are giving packages for COVID-19 vaccination. Looking at this, the Union Health Ministry clarified that such COVID-19 vaccination programmes are in violation of the guidelines and legal action needs to be initiated against them.
The Centre has asked states and union territories to initiate legal or administrative action against institutions which are agreeing to sell the COVID-19 vaccines in collaboration with hotels.
Centre in a letter written to the states and union territories said that the Health Ministry has directed the officials to monitor and ensure that the guidelines issued by the government should be followed while carrying out the National COVID Vaccination drive.
As per the COVID-19 vaccination guidelines released by the central government, only four options are available for carrying out the vaccination drive in the country: Government COVID Vaccination Centres, Private hospitals led COVID Vaccination Centres, Workplace COVID Vaccination Centre, and near to home COVID vaccination centre for elderly and differently-abled persons to be organised at group housing societies, community centres, school and colleges, etc on a temporary basis.