Vaccination procurement to be centralised again

PM says free jabs for all adults from June 21; 25% quota for pvt hospitals remains

TRESEARCH IS CONTINUING ON A NASAL SPRAY VACCINE WHICH, IF SUCCESSFUL, CAN SIGNIFICANTLY BOOST INDIA'S VACCINATION DRIVE”

IN MANY PLACES, RELAXATIONS ARE BEING GIVEN, BUT IT DOES NOT MEAN CORONAVIRUS HAS GONE AWAY. WE HAVE TO REMAIN CAUTIOUS” NARENDRA MODI PRIME MINISTER

he Centre has taken back control of vaccine procurement and will supply Covid-19 jabs to states free of cost to inoculate all above 18 years of age from June 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday.

“No state would have to spend anything on vaccines. The 25 per cent of the vaccination work that was with states will also be handled by the Government of India...now, all above 18 will be able to get the shot for free,” Modi said.

Of the total vaccine availability, 75 per cent will be procured by the Centre and the remaining 25 per cent will continue to be available for private hospitals.

State governments will monitor that private hospitals are not charging more than ~150 a dose as service charge over the fixed price of a vaccine, he said. Detailed guidelines in this regard will be prepared by the central and state governments, he added.

The government will share in advance the supply schedule with states, Modi said, talking about the revised policy.

Modi also cautioned people against any laxity and asserted that Covid-appropriate protocol was the “most effective weapon” against coronavirus.

“In many places, relaxations are being given in corona curfew, but it does not mean that coronavirus has gone away. We have to remain cautious and also have to follow Covid protocols strictly. I am confident that we will win this battle,” he said.

Industry representatives said the revised policy would ensure an equitable allocation of vaccines in states.

“The centralisation of procurement will ensure the uniformity of procurement prices and create bandwidth among states to manage the inoculation of their adult populations,” said T V Narendran, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Earlier, the government had announced a liberalised vaccine policy from May 1 to allow states and private hospitals to procure vaccines directly from manufacturers, accessing only 50 per cent of the available stocks.

Prices of vaccines were also different for the Centre (~150 a dose) and states (between ~300 and ~600). The dual pricing policy was questioned by the Supreme Court.