NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) continued its attack on the BJP-led central government over the shortage of Covid-19 vaccine in Delhi saying the Centre is involved a ‘vaccination scam’. The AAP said that while the vaccine doses are not reaching the state government centers, the private hospitals are having no such issue.
“There appears to be a scam being perpetrated under the garb of the vaccination program by the BJP-ruled central government. While government- run vaccination centres have become non-functional, the private-run vaccination centres are running at full capacity and have lakhs and lakhs of vials at their disposal,” said AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha.
For past many days, the Centre and Delhi governments have been playing a blame game on the issue of the weak supply of vaccine doses. The issue cropped up as soon as the vaccination process for the 18- 44 age category started. The programme had to be suspended on May 22 due to the lack of stocks for the category. AAP government which had plans to vaccinate the entire population of Delhi in three months, has been attacking the Centre daily for not supplying enough vaccines.
BJP has accused the AAP government of doing politics on the issue and making baseless allegations. “Delhi is the biggest example wherein the vaccination centres set up by the Delhi government are all closed because the central government refuses to give us vaccines. However, the same government is allocating vaccines to private hospitals.
Why is the central government creating an artificial scarcity in the government sector?” alleged Chadha. AAP MLA Atishi said that people in the 18-44 age are being forced to spend money to get vaccinated, “On one side, states are not able to vaccinate their youth, on the other private hospitals are not short of it and are charging Rs 900-1,350 for a jab.”
JAB CENTRE FOR DIVYAANGS
A Covid-19 vaccination centre dedicated for persons with disabilities (PwD) was opened on Friday at a school in Chhatarpur. As per a notice issued by the South Delhi district magistrate, the centre will cater
to persons with disabilities aged 45 or older for now. The vaccination centre at at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Chhatarpur will remain open from 9 am to 5 pm every day of the week, except on Sunday. The visitors will be required to carry a proof of disability in the form of PwD identity card, or proof of residency in a PwD shelter/hostel/ centre, or any other relevant PwD certificate, the notice said.
DU COLLEGE OPENS VAX CAMP
Delhi University’s Lakshmibai College began a walk-in vaccination drive on Friday for its staff and their family members aged 45 and above. The college had started a Covid-19 isolation centre last month as a tribute to one of its professors, Sangita Sharma, who succumbed to the virus, principal Pratyush Vatsala said. A post-Covid care clinic was started on Wednesday. “We are a public-funded institution and it’s our responsibility to serve the society. The vaccination centre is currently only for DU staffers and their families, but if we do not get much crowd then we plan to open it for the common people too,” Vatsala said.