Private hospitals report better vaccine turnout in Delhi

At Max hospital in Saket, 100 healthcare workers each were inoculated on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday. Similarly, at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Indraprastha Apollo, the target of vaccinating 100 healthcare workers was met on Tuesday and Thursday.

“Since the Co-WIN app was not working, we asked all healthcare workers who were willing to get the shot to turn up, and the number automatically improved. Maybe, this is one of the reasons why we are seeing see a high turnout,” said Dr D S Rana, chairman of board at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Among Delhi government hospitals, the lowest turnout was observed at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) where 74 healthcare workers have been vaccinated in four days. However, Lok Nayak Hospital vaccinated 100 beneficiaries Thursday — becoming the first government hospital in the city to achieve this daily target.

The response was comparatively better at Centre-run hospitals such as AIIMS, RML, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge Medical College, where healthcare workers are being administered Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

Experts attributed the trend towards the user-friendly environment in the private sector and easy walk-in process. Dr Suneela Garg, a public health expert, told The Indian Express: “It’s a well-knit community as compared to the government sector. There is a difference in the provision of care at government and private hospitals… the provider-beneficiary relationship is more towards having one-to-one communication in the private sector. Somehow, we may have to inculcate this in the government sector to see a better turnout in the coming weeks.”

Said Dr Arun Gupta, president, Delhi Medical Council: “While doctors at both set ups are equally competent and knowledgeable, the number of healthcare workers getting vaccinated is relatively higher in the private sector. They might be carrying out the exercise more aggressively, while focusing on counselling health workers.”