State Must Step In To Help The Poor With Co-Morbidities To Avail Vaccine
The insistence of a 'Certificate Of Co-morbidity' from a registered medical practitioner will lead to corruption and malpractice among private doctors. The State must permit the poor to provide a 'case-paper' of treatment being availed from municipal or government dispensaries or hospitals, even cap the charge levied by private doctors for the 'certificate' says Gajanan Khergamker
While the Government has ensured the COVID vaccine is provided for free at government hospitals and even capped the price of the vaccine to be delivered by private hospitals at Rs 250 that include Rs 150 for the vaccine and Rs 100 for the services provided, there appears to be a gaping lapse in the process that needs to be addressed with immediacy.
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| ANOTHER CAP NEEDED: The Modi government has successfully plugged many loopholes yet needs to cap the price charged by private medical practitioners for the 'certificate of co-morbidity' |
The lacuna will be exploited by greedy medical practitioners who will charge at whim to issue 'certificates of co-morbidity' imperative for those availing the vaccine. And, by the time, the issue is raised across public domain and reaches legislative channels or court, a lot of money will be earned through unfair means, the poor deprived of their lawful rights and the fight against COVID-19 substantially weakened. After all, there is no upper limit to the charges to be levied by doctors to provide the 'certificate of co-morbidity' as mandated for the vaccine. This, on the lines of the capping of COVID-19 treatment rates and ventilator charges by the Maharashtra government, like others, to stem similar trends last year, is well in order and warranted.
Now, seniors above the age of 60 have to prove their seniority with a government-approved document such as a Driving License, an Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), a PAN Card, an Aadhaar Card and that is an easy process. It's the certificate of co-morbidity issued by a registered medical practitioner which is the issue here.
For most middle-class citizens who have a family physician, obtaining a certificate of co-morbidity i.e. Diabetes, Hypertension or a recent history of Heart Failure etc., is easy. Also, for those who have been availing treatment from a hospital or a dispensary for years. Yet, more than half of Mumbai's population that lives in slums, for example, would be availing treatment from government hospitals or municipal dispensaries for co-morbidities. And today, when a 'certificate of co-morbidity' is a pre-requisite for obtaining the COVID vaccine, the authorities have no answer.
Incidentally, a patient availing treatment from a municipal dispensary, hospital or a government hospital is provided with a 'case paper' detailing his condition and the treatment being provided or undertaken and nothing else. That apart, there is absolutely no procedure for a 'certificate of co-morbidity' to be issued in place; something that the state's health ministry should have taken into consideration and addressed long before 1 March 2021 when the need would evidently arise.
The Health Ministry should have passed directives to the state and civic machinery to either direct registered medical practitioners working with the government to issue such a 'certificate of co-morbidity' to a patient availing treatment or an order to direct the 'case-paper offered by the dispensary or hospital to the person with co-morbidity' be accepted in place of the 'certificate of co-morbidity' for the person in question availing the vaccine.
Civic dispensaries, for instance, in Mumbai, have absolutely nothing in place with regard to the certifications needed by those with co-morbidities and yet 'await directives' from 'higher-ups' on the issue of certification and all of this while a second wave of COVID-19 stares Maximum City in the eye. "Wait for a few days till the issue is resolved," says a municipal dispensary doctor on grounds of anonymity and expresses his helplessness at the situation when queried.
That those with co-morbidity are at extremely high risk of contracting COVID-19, developing serious complications even succumbing to it, is a known fact. After almost a year of grappling with the scourge of Coronavirus, losing 52,184 people of which a sizeable amount suffered from co-morbidity, Maharashtra should have learnt her lessons.
The State's Health Ministry across Maharashtra and the civic body in Mumbai must immediately issue swift directives to municipal and government dispensaries and hospitals in the city and healthcare centres at district even village levels to either issue 'Certificates of co-morbidity' to affected persons to speeden the vaccination process or issue directives to the vaccinating centres to accept 'Case-papers' of treatment being undertaken for co-morbidity in place of the 'certificate of co-morbidity'.
That apart, the government must issue directives placing a limit to the charges for private medical practitioners to issue a 'certificate of co-morbidity' after duly checking a patient and provide for a free 'certificate of co-morbidity' at a government or municipal dispensary, hospital or health centre.
If that does not happen, the Supreme Court or the respective High Court should take up the issue, Suo Motu and direct the concerned State government to do so.
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