Odisha CM seeks states’ consensus on jab supply

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday called for a consensus between states on asking the Centre to procure and distribute Covid-19 vaccines, and pointed out that global tenders being floated directly by the states were not yielding results.

In a letter to his counterparts, which comes amid accusations from some states that the Centre has left them to fend for themselves as vaccine supplies are unable to match demand or capacity, Patnaik said that while administrating vaccines must be decentralised, procurement should not be.

Global vaccine manufacturers are looking to the Union government for clearances and assurances, and are unwilling to get into contracts with the state governments, Patnaik said in the letter to the chief ministers.