COURSE CORRECTION
Vaccination free for all above 18, barring those wanting to go to private hospitals; Centre will assume control of procurement
With the Supreme Court breathing down its neck, stating that the vaccination policy is prima facie arbitrary and irrational, which perhaps forced the former to see reason, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced that the state governments will not have to struggle to procure the Covid-19 vaccines, as the Union government is taking over all procurement.
The Centre has also decided to assume responsibility for inoculating all those above 18 years of age – another sticking point with the Supreme Court which failed to see the rationale for creating such a sub-group.
The new guidelines for distribution will be come into force within two weeks by June 21, the international Yoga day.
In a 33-minute TV address to the nation, PM Modi also announced free ration to 80 crore people; the scheme will take off in May and continue till Diwali, i.e. for five more months till November 4.
Scrapping the policy effective since May 1, which allowed the states to procure 25% of the vaccine stock from the manufacturers, the Prime Minister announced that the Centre would now obtain 75% of the production, including 50% it was already procuring, and supply it to the states for free distribution; it will also inform the states about the supplies weeks beforehand.
For those who can afford to pay, the private hospitals will come into play. These hospitals will acquire the remaining 25% vaccines directly from the manufacturers, with a rider that they will not charge more than Rs 150 per dose as "service charges," the supervision for which will be left up to the state governments, Modi said.
The Prime Minister took pride in noting that India's vaccination speed was faster than that in many countries. He also sought the people's cooperation and asked them to be alert to false rumours spread as part of a dissemination campaign against vaccination. He was careful in not reiterating the government's resolve to vaccinate all population by December while pointing out that 23 crore doses have been administered, hailing it as a success. The Prime Minister put the blame for the inoculation mess and the resulting shortages on the states, which he said kept harping on decentralisation of the procurement on the plea that health is a state subject under the Constitution. He said there were no hiccups before May 1, right from the start of the vaccination drive on January 16; the Centre even accepted the states' demand and the arrangement was altered to allow them to procure 25% of the supplies. But now the states won't have to spend any more on procurement as they will get the supplies free of cost from the Centre.