2 containers based mobile hosps to be set up under Ayushman Bharat Health Infra scheme

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said two container-based mobile hospitals with all healthcare facilities will be established under the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission which could be rushed to any place in case of an emergency.

He said these containers with a capacity of about 100 beds each will be placed in Delhi and Chennai, adding that they can be airlifted or taken by trains to the place of emergency.

"This is happening in South Asia for the second time that two containers will be kept ready in the country in which all the facilities related to the hospital will be there," he noted.

The minister stated that the central government has taken a total not token approach in healthcare, adding that COVID-19 pandemic has given an opportunity to improve the health infrastructure and for that PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission has been

launched with an investment of Rs 64,000 crore.

On giving WHO's emergency use listing (EUL) to Covaxin, he said the world health body has a system in which there is a technical committee which has approved Covaxin, and now it has moved to another committee for evaluation.

"The other committee is meeting on Tuesday. The approval for Covaxin will be given on the basis of this meeting," he stated.

On the sidelines of the briefing, he said he is hopeful that the approval will be given.

In response to a question, Mandaviya said pricing of children's vaccine ZyCoV-D's is under discussion.

Asked about new COVID19 variant AY.4.2, he said Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) teams are studying and analysing different variants of the infection.

Addressing a press conference, the health minister also said that about 79,415 health and wellness centres have been operationalised in the country out of the planned 1.5 lakh such centres.

He said there should be good laboratories at all levels-- be it district or national level.

Mandaviya added that the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission is such an "important scheme that the average expenditure of Rs 90 to Rs 100 crore in a district will be spent on health infrastructure due to which we will be able to fight any disaster in the coming time".

"Under this scheme, 134 types of tests will be done free of cost at the district level which is a big step," he said.

The Pradhan MantriAyushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission is one of the largest pan-India schemes for strengthening healthcare infrastructure across the country. It is in addition to the National Health Mission.