India aims a daily target of 5 mn jabs in Phase-3 | Economic Times

The Centre has set a daily target of 5 million jabs in the third phase of the vaccination drive which will cover all those aged 45 and above from Thursday, National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma told ET. Private hospitals had been allowed more flexibility to meet this target, he said.“In the second phase, we had touched 3 million on some days. We want to increase the speed to at least 5 million. This is a race against time. The more we vaccinate, the more we will be able to break that chain of transmission. This is what we are aiming for. We have the vaccine supply and capacity for vaccinating 5 million per day. However, ultimately it is the willingness of the people to come forward and get vaccinated,” he said, adding that the government was working on the “minimum wastage and maximum speed” mantra.‘Payment Process Streamlined’For this, Sharma told ET that private hospitals have been given the flexibility to make weekly instead of monthly procurements.“We have told them that they don’t need to procure for a month, they can make weekly payments and get vaccines. This should not deter them from publishing a timetable for a month,” he said.The government had asked private hospitals to indicate vaccination slots to beneficiaries up to a month but the visibility being offered continues to be at up to 15 days, said Sharma.“Private hospitals look at their stocks and then give the timetable. We have assured them of adequate supply and now told them that even if you do not have vaccines, you can publish the time slots for a month. You procure as you use the vaccines,” he said.