Only Centre can resolve vaccine mess, not states
The Central government’s attempts to wash its hands of the serious crisis facing the vaccination programme against pandemic Covid-19 are despicable and the arguments contained in the statement of the chairperson of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 seeking to “bust the myths around vaccination” defy facts, logic, law and ground realities. The statement basically seeks to refute the allegation that the Centre had abdicated its responsibility towards the states by saying health is a state subject and the liberalised vaccine policy was a result of the incessant requests being made by the states to give them more power. It may be remembered that the Centre had on March 14, 2020, declared the pandemic as a national disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The Act defines disaster management as “the continuous and integrated process of planning, organising, coordinating and implementing measures… for, inter alia, prevention of danger or threat of any disaster and mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences”. All the measures the Centre took and the guidelines the Union home ministry issued till now were based on the DM Act, and vaccination falls within that category.
A perusal of the Act would convince anyone that a national plan for vaccination is the responsibility of the Union government, and not the states. The position that the Centre made 50 per cent of the vaccine produced within the country accessible to the states has little merit as it only made the entire programme messier, not easier. The statement makes its own argument that “states are entitled to approach foreign manufacturers directly” weak when it goes on to state that the global tenders have given no results because vaccines are in short supply and it is not easy to procure them at short notice. At the same time, the statement conveniently omits the stand of several manufacturers that they will deal only with national governments and none else. The issue is of vaccine availability, and the statement skirts that issue. It says the administration of vaccines by the states leaves a lot to be desired but does not give specifics. On the contrary, field reports say several states have shut down their vaccination centres due to shortage of vaccine, and for nothing else.
The statement dismisses that compulsory licensing is not the “formula” to increase vaccine production but then says the government has ensured active partnership between Bharat Biotech and three other entities to enhance production of Covaxin. The government must get more such companies on board and make the facilities such as the Integrated Vaccine Complex in Tamil Nadu functional instead of getting into the technicalities. Inadvertently, the statement refers to the games vaccine manufacturers play and the priorities they have; the criticism against the government has been that it was nowhere to be seen when several other national governments and companies were making their moves last year. It’s time the government stopped engaging in the exercise of finding excuses and does whatever it takes to enhance the supply of vaccines. For, it alone can do it.
A perusal of the Disaster Management Act would convince anyone that a national plan for vaccination is the responsibility of the Union government, and not the states