Govt may look at central jab procurement: FM

The government may look at centralised procurement of vaccines, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, even as she hit out at opposition-ruled states for tardy pace of vaccination and high wastage.“We may examine it (central procurement),” she told ET. Most opposition-ruled states now want the Centre to procure vaccines, backpedaling after seeking more flexibility in vaccination, as their global bids for supplies did not elicit any serious response.Odisha health minister Naba Kisore Das wrote to Union health minister Harsh Vardhan a few days ago to press for central procurement. His demand has received support from Kerala and Jharkhand, among others.The Supreme Court has also suggested that the central government procure vaccines at a negotiated price. According to government data, as of June 6, states have received 246 million doses of vaccines and at present have 16.3 million doses with them.The Centre has provided Rs 35,000 crore for vaccination in the budget for this fiscal year and more funds can be provided if need be, Sitharaman said. 83297057 The Centre had on April 19 announced a ‘liberalised and accelerated’ Phase 3 policy, opening vaccination to everyone over the age of 18 years beginning May 1.Under the plan, 50% of the total domestic production of vaccines would go to the Centre for the vaccination of people over 45 years of age, 25% to states for vaccinating the 18-44 years age group and the balance 25% to the private sector. States are also free to procure approved vaccines from global suppliers. Vaccination for the 18-44 group has been slow because of lack of supplies.Demand for FlexibilityCentral officials maintain that since health was a state subject, the government had accepted the demand for flexibility in procurement.India has administered 233 million vaccine doses so far. The government expects the supply of more than 2 billion doses by December.The FM questioned the pace of vaccination in states. “You criticise the Centre for lack of supplies. Even when there was supply at the time of vaccination for priority groups like healthcare, the pace has been so low.”As of June 4, she said, Punjab had reportedly been able to administer the first dose of vaccine to just 65% of its health workers. This, she said, was 88% in Chhattisgarh, 77% in Maharashtra and 73% in Delhi.“We started India's vaccination programme with this group. Doctors are frontline workers, who have to treat patients and are exposed to infections. You could not even complete their vaccination when there was no supply issue,” she said.The minister also hit out at the opposition over vaccine wastage. “Has the Congress leadership talked about vaccine profiteering in Punjab, or how vaccines were found in dustbins in Rajasthan and were wasted in Chhattisgarh,” she said.Of the 19.5 million free vaccines provided to Rajasthan, over 476,000 were reportedly wasted. “Preventing vaccine wastage is one of the key responsibilities of the state,” she said.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/34RFvgX