Delhi, Ladakh, Uttarakhand to give free jabs to all adults
NEW DELHI: Delhi, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and the Union territory of Ladakh on Monday announced free vaccination for all between 18 and 45 even as the Tamil Nadu government requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to procure and supply the entire quantity of vaccine needed for next phase of the drive beginning May 1.
Delhi’s announcement comes at a time when the Capital’s health care infrastructure remains overrun by a caseload that has been mounting amid an unprecedented fourth wave of infections.
In a digital news briefing, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said a purchase of 13.4 million doses has been approved and that his government will make efforts to speed up the process.
“We are working on a plan to start large-scale vaccination as soon as possible,” he said. He also urged vaccine manufacturers in the country to reduce their prices and asked the Centre to consider a “one nation, one rate” policy for Covid-19 vaccines.
“As we are seeing, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc in the country. There is only one solution to this pandemic and that is vaccination. Delhi government has decided to give free Covid-19 vaccines to those who are 18 and above,” Kejriwal said.
The free vaccines will be meant only for the residents of Delhi, even as the detailed plan of the drive was yet to be finalised by the government, according to people aware of the matter. Delhi on Sunday extended by a week its lockdown, a “last resort” measure put in place to arrest the alarming spread of Covid-19 in the Capital, as the health care infrastructure remained overwhelmed by a massive surge in infections, with complaints of shortages of medical oxygen and hospital beds pouring in from across the city.
The chief minister also said beds were being increased further in Delhi to treat Covid-19 patients.
“I inspected the Covid care centre at Radha Saomi Satsang Baes campus in Chhattarpur which has been opened for patients today from 10 am. Today, it has started with 150 beds, which will be increased to 500 in about two days, then 2,000 and finally it will be ramped up to 5,000 beds. There itself, we are also arranging 200 ICU beds as well. We are increasing Covid-19 beds across Delhi in this way. I hope this will help people in this crisis,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ladakh’s lieutenant governor RK Mathur also made an announcement of free vaccination for all on Monday.
“Union Territory of Ladakh has announced free vaccination to all its residents who are eligible for phase III of the COVID vaccination drive,” said an official spokesman.
The UT reported 120 fresh Covid-19 infections and two deaths taking the active cases tally to 13,357 and toll to 138 on Monday.
In Uttarakhand, the state government approved the decision to vaccinate about five milion people of 18-45 age group free of cost. It also imposed a fine of ₹500 and ₹700 for not wearing masks in public places.
The Karnataka cabinet led by chief minister BS Yediyurappa decided to provide vaccinations free of cost at government hospitals to all adults below 45 years of age. The state government on Thursday decided to purchase 10 million doses of Covishield vaccine for ₹400 crore.
In Tamil Nadu, chief minister E Palaniswami wrote to PM Modi and said a ”differential price mechanism” is “inherently unfair”, and said it would put a higher financial burden on the states which have lesser financial resources compared to the central government.