Government puts on hold fresh registration of health workers for COVID-19 vaccine

Health: The central government has directed all states and union territories to put on hold any new registrations of healthcare workers (HCWs) and other frontline workers (FLWs) for COVID-19 vaccination on the Co-WIN website.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued the order after witnessing a sudden spike in the number of registered healthcare workers on the website, and on receiving information that ‘ineligible beneficiaries’ were getting registered in this category to access vaccinations. There has been a 24 percent increase in the HCW database in the past few days.

“As per the recommendation of National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19, it has been decided that no fresh registrations in categories of HCWs and FLWs will be allowed with immediate effect. However, universal vaccination of already registered HCWs and FLWs must be ensured at the earliest. Registrations of persons aged 45 years and above will continue to be permitted on Co-WIN portal,” read a letter sent by Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to all states and union territories.

India’s vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16th, 2021 but it was limited to healthcare workers and frontline staff. On March 1st, the eligibility criteria was expanded to include all people over the age of 60 and those over the age of 45 with specified co-morbid conditions.

Read this article on how sharing information strategically can promote behavioural changes and influence public opinion in favour of COVID-19 vaccination.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.