Gujarat: Health dept hikes stipend for medical interns by Rs 5,000
Currently, the monthly stipend for interns across 14 such colleges ranges from Rs 12,800 to Rs 13,000. With the revision, the monthly stipend will now go up to Rs 17,800-Rs 18,000. December 20, 2020 2:01:12 am
Nealy 2,000 interns across Gujarat had gone on a strike on December 14 seeking a monthly stipend of at least Rs 20,000, an additional honorarium for the days of Covid-19 ward/patient duty. (Representational)
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said Saturday the state government has decided to pay an incentive allowance of Rs 5,000 per month with effect from April this year for intern doctors working in hospitals attached to government medical colleges in view of the Covid-19 duty performed by them.
New Delhi: The rollout of COVID-19 vaccine by Bharat Biotech for the general public may get delayed as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where its Phase 3 human clinical trial is underway, is struggling to find takers of the trial shots, the official heading the project said.
Speaking to IANS, Sanjay Rai, the doctor who is the principal investigator (PI) of Covaxin trial, stated that there are chances that the vaccine may get delayed for public use if the participation of subjects in the trial does not go up.
“The rollout would definitely get delayed if the participation in the trial remains low and does not meet the targeted sample size. With low sample size, the credible data on efficacy will not be achieved,” he said.
Intern doctors went on a strike seeking a hike in stipend. (File)
Intern doctors of 14 government and Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society (GMERS)-run medical colleges, who had suspended work since the past three days, protesting against their low monthly stipend, decided to join back on duty after Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who also holds the Health portfolio, assured them on Wednesday that their demands will be heard in the next couple of days.
With Vadodara BJP unit president Dr Vijay Shah acting as the mediator in the evening meeting of Wednesday, 15 intern representatives at Gandhinagar office of Patel, were informed that their concerns and demands will be heard. In light of this assurance, the interns have decided to withdraw their strike.