Free vaccines for everyone at Bombay Hospital now – Times of India

Mumbai: Bombay Hospital in Marine Lines will become the first private hospital in the city to provide free vaccination for all from Friday. Left with nearly 17,000 vaccine doses, the hospital has tied up with LIC HFL and NGO Golden Hour Foundation to fund the doses. The hospital will only provide Covishield doses and people can come for first and second shots.
Till now, private hospitals have only vaccinated people living in slums for free with the help of CSR (corporate social responsibility) funding. “We will perhaps be the first in the country to roll out vaccination for people from all walks of life at no cost. It will be done with contributions from two agencies,” said Dr Gautam Bhansali of Bombay Hospital. The hospital will bear the service charge of Rs 150, which means the agencies would be paying the hospital only the cost of the vaccine. “It will help us cover more people,” he said. The agencies have given Rs 50 lakh to the hospital.
With paid vaccinations witnessing a drastic drop in demand since October, over 45 lakh doses are lying with private hospitals in Mumbai, Thane and Pune. Several experts have advised that the private hospitals should vaccinate for free or find CSR donors so that doses don’t get wasted or lie idle. But with an overall drop in demand for vaccination and the public sector too have abundant doses, private players are unable to find many takers. TNN