A second private hospital in Calcutta has started administering Covid shots to people in the 18-44 age group as queries for vaccines flood other hospitals.
Some hospitals said they were expecting to procure doses from the manufacturers in a few weeks, while others are uncertain about the dates. Most hospitals said their priorities were still second-dose recipients.
Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals on Wednesday started the vaccination drive for those between 18 and 44 years, a day after Woodlands Hospital started it.
Apollo has procured Covishield doses from the Serum Institute of India, said an official.
“We have procured the doses from the manufacturers and have started vaccinating those between 18 and 44. We have also resumed administering the second dose to those above 45,” said an official of Apollo Gleneagles.
A number of doctors and nurses have contracted Covid despite being fully vaccinated against the disease, a trend that will only intensify the crisis in Covid management unless corrective measures are immediately taken.
Public health experts and hospital officials said unless a pool of doctors from all fields is created, the crisis of medical personnel would be as severe as that of Covid beds.
At all three hospitals of the AMRI group in Calcutta, about 70 healthcare personnel, including junior doctors and nurses, are down with Covid.
At Peerless Hospital, at least four senior doctors, including two critical care specialists, have been infected with the coronavirus despite taking both jabs.
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The state health department has decided to requisition Covid beds at private hospitals, which will be reserved for patients referred by the government.
An order issued on Saturday said 1,387 beds at 24 private hospitals across the state would be taken over for the treatment of Covid patients. Most of the hospitals are in Calcutta and North 24-Parganas, the two worst-affected districts in the state.
Some of the hospitals where beds have been requisitioned include Peerless Hospital, RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Hospital, CMRI, Belle Vue Clinic and Columbia Asia in Calcutta; ILS Hospital in Dum Dum; Charnock Hospital in New Town; and Megacity in Barasat, North 24-Parganas. The requisitioned beds will be separate from the Covid beds the hospitals have to set aside.
One private hospital is receiving around 1,200 calls every day from people between 18 and 44, who are seeking bookings for Covid-19 vaccine shots.
Another private hospital is having 10 to 12 young persons standing in the vaccination queue, carrying their Aadhaar cards. They want to book slots for Covid jabs as soon as vaccination for all adults opens across the country on May 1, fearful that doses might run out soon.
In Bengal, people between 18 and 44 will be vaccinated from May 5.
Private hospitals are flooded with queries about how the vaccination for all above the age of 18 would roll out, but they have no answers. Till Friday evening, there was no clarity from the central government about who would procure the vaccine doses and from whom.