NASHIK: With the government vaccine centres going dry for the last four days, the vaccination centres at private hospitals are witnessing a slight rise in footfall of beneficiaries.
Besides, people are also willing to pay for the shots at private vaccination centres.
“Since the last few days, the number of vaccinations administered at private centres have gone up. Some of them have even crossed the 400-mark with many hospitals deploying additional staff for the job,” said incident commander Ganesh Misal.
Echoing similar sentiments, vice-president of Hospital Owners Association of Nashik Dr Raj Nagarkar said that some centres operating round-the-clock have seen people walking in even during midnight.
“The number of people taking vaccines at private centres has increased by 1.5 times the earlier figure, epsecially because people feel that the atmosphere at private centres is safe and hygiene is well-maintained. Besides, good number of people are also visiting these centres at night. On an average, we are giving 70 shots between 10 pm and 7 am as beneficiaries prefer the times slot to the get out of their daily schedule and take care of their health,” Dr Nagarkar said.
Another reason people are preferring private vaccination centres is due to the assured availability of vaccines, he further said.
“I tried to get the vaccine through government institutions, but was unable to book a slot. Besides, there is uncertainty. Therefore, I approached a private centre and got my first dose of vaccine there. I would only opt for the second shot from the government centre if the supply is normalized,” said Shantanu Patil who works at a city-based IT firm.
Meanwhile, Misal said that since the stock of vaccines is limited, vaccination isnly being carried out in tribal blocks where the consumption had been lagging a bit while in other areas the centres were closed.
