<span style="color: #222222;">Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan along with Chairman of Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration and Member of National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID-19 Dr. R. S. Sharma today chaired a high-level meeting to review the status and pace of the next phase of the country-wide COVID vaccination programme which commenced from yesterday. They reviewed the status with Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Health Secretaries of States and UTs through a video conference.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In addition to all government health facilities, all private hospitals empanelled under Central Government Health Scheme, CGHS, Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana and similar State Health Insurance Schemes can function as COVID Vaccination Centers subject to mandatorily adhering to some specific norms.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">After a detailed presentation on the status of vaccination in various States and UTs, they were urged to ensure to utilise 100 per cent capacities of all private hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat, CGHS and State Health Insurance Schemes to enable them to effectively function as COVID Vaccination Centers to regularly collaborate with the private hospitals to ensure that their optimum capacities for vaccination are fully utilised.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Private hospitals not empanelled under the three categories have also been permitted to operate as COVID Vaccination Centres if they have adequate number of vaccinators, adequate space for observation of the vaccinated, adequate cold chain arrangement and adequate arrangement for management of adverse events following immunization. States and UTs can proactively make efforts to use these private hospitals as COVID Vaccination Centres.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The states were urged to ensure adequate allocation of vaccines to all hospitals, government and private for the entire duration for which sessions have been planned, to enable them to function as COVID Vaccination Centres in a smooth and obstruction free manner. It was reiterated that there is no shortage of COVID vaccines, hence adequate vaccine doses should be allocated to the  COVID Vaccination Centres. The Health Secretary said, States and UTs should not store, reserve, conserve or create a buffer stock of the COVID vaccines at the state and district levels. The Central Government has adequate stock and will provide the required vaccine doses to them.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">All Private Vaccination Centres should have in place effective crowd management protocols along with facilities for seating, water and proper signage.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">States and UTs in consultation with the private hospitals should open the vaccination slots for 15 days to a month and announce this as part of their Vaccine Time Table.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Co-WIN2.0 portal can be scaled up to accommodate all potential and eligible citizen beneficiaries. This portal should be put to effective use as the backbone of the vaccination program.</span>