Bihar: CM Nitish Kumar fulfils poll promise, state govt to bear cost of COVID-19 vaccination

As India gets ready to vaccinate people above 60 years and those aged 45 and above with comorbidities, the Bihar government on Sunday announced that the people in the state will get vaccinated against COVID-19 for free even at private hospitals, reported India Today.

According to the report, as per their poll promise to provide free COVID-19 vaccine, the decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by CM Nitish Kumar on Sunday.

The next phase of the world's largest COVID-19 vaccination drive for the age-appropriate population groups will commence from Monday, March 1, onwards.

The eligible people, aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities, can register and book their slots for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN 2.0 portal.

This information was shared during the orientation workshop organised by the Union Health Ministry and the National Health Authority (NHA) for the 10,000 private hospitals under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, more than 600 hospitals empanelled under CGHS and other private hospitals empanelled under State Government's Health Insurance Schemes, on Co-WIN2.0.

As per modalities released by the government, there will be only one live appointment for a beneficiary at any point of time for each dose. Appointments for any date for a Covid Vaccination Center (CVC) will be closed at 3 pm on that day for which the slots were opened.

Eligible beneficiaries can register at the CO-WIN 2.0 portal through their mobile number following a step-by-step process. A person can register as many as four beneficiaries with a single mobile number.