Telangana: 27% percent of vaccines paid for by individuals

Hyderabad: At least 27 per cent of the COVID-19 vaccines administered in Telangana have been paid for by individuals, data provided by the ministry of health and family welfare to the Lok Sabha on Saturday revealed.

The vaccines obtained were administered by private hospitals. According to the data, the state had received 1.59 crore doses to date of which 43 lakh were bought by individuals, whilst another 9.25 lakh was purchased by the state in the months of May and June.

Around 1.06 crore vaccines were purchased at subsidized rates by the Centre and subsequently provided to the state. The data otherwise revealed how the state has received a majority of the doses in June.

The second-highest number of doses was witnessed in July with 15.05 lakh individuals getting vaccinated. In May, when the second wave was at its highest, 12.43 lakh doses were administered.

What is noteworthy is that 1.20 lakh extra doses were given in the state, over and above the supply. The nurses who administered the vaccines were able to extract more from a single vial than mandated – which is 10 for Covishield and 20 for Covaxin, thus vaccinating more people by preventing wastage.