THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has urged the Centre to provide entire quantity of Covid vaccines to states free of cost. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requested the Union Government to revise its vaccine distribution policy to ensure that states are not left to compete with open market players. The CM said though Kerala requested for 50 lakh doses of vaccine to implement its vaccination plan, the state got only 5.5 lakh doses. Following this, the state had to stop the on-the-spot registration. He urged the PM to allot the balance doses of vaccines at the earliest.
Referring to the new vaccine policy announced on Monday, Pinarayi said state governments have been asked to get vaccines from manufacturers at a price. “The state governments are already facing additional financial commitments from the consequences of the pandemic. Given the present scenario, we have to provide vaccine to the public free of cost. As the economic downturn is still persisting, the additional burden of purchasing Covid vaccine will place considerable strain on state finances,” he said.
As per the Central decision 50 pc of vaccine doses are earmarked for the Centre while the remaining 50 is to distributed to the states and in the open market. The state governments have constitutional obligation in the health sector and do need an assured quota of Covid vaccine which should be provided free of cost. “It’s imperative that vaccines are provided to states as a public good, free of cost,” he said.
Though the policy says that the Centre will provide vaccines free of cost to state governments from its 50 pc quota, states need a reassurance that they will not be left to compete with open market players, the chief minister further pointed out. “Instead of having a Government of India channel, we need to have a government channel which will include the state governments through which the vaccine will be distributed,” Pinarayi suggested. He urged the PM to reconsider this aspect in the vaccine distribution policy and provide the entire quantity of vaccine required free of cost to states.