The Prime Minister today announced that India will be resuming its one nation one vaccine policy, after a
month of ‘liberalised’ vaccine policy which permitted state governments to procure the jabs from vaccine manufacturers in the country.
The third phase of India’s vaccine drive, as announced in May by the central government, permitted state governments to procure 25 per cent of the total stock manufactured by a vaccine producing company at a relatively higher price. This was put in place after demands by several state governments to do away with the previous centralised vaccine procurement phases of the vaccination policy, which ran from January 16 to April end. The state governments were provided vaccine for free by the central government.
However, the new policy announced by PM Modi on Monday, as the fourth phase of the vaccination drive, will no longer permit states to source vaccines independently. The central government will now purchase 75 per cent of the total stock manufactured by vaccine producing companies, and all states will be provided with the jabs for free. The central government will hence resume its position as the nodal agency in India’s vaccination drive.
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The remainder, 25 per cent, has been reserved for private hospitals, which can only levy a service charge of Rs 150 on every jab, Mr Modi said on Monday.
All states will now be informed about the vaccine doses they will be provided by the central government weeks before the actual supply. Details of the new phase will be finalised in the next two weeks, and implementation will begin on June 21.
The Prime Minister also announced the extension of Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana, which was first implemented in the national lockdown of April 2020. The policy will now be implemented till the month of November. While the scheme has provided free ration to 80 crore citizens in the last 1.5 years, it will continue to grant free grains and rice to all poor citizens until Diwali 2021.
“All of us had to work together to fight the battle with Covid-19. We have already been working hard to ensure a healthy vaccine supply, which will hopefully increase in the coming months. Seven companies are producing different vaccines, and three are in trials in advanced stages. We are also attempting to get vaccines from other countries,” Mr Modi said, referring to the Zydus Cadila and other vaccines currently in the pipeline.
He also expressed hope for the Bharat Biotech nasal vaccine and said that its production will further increase the speed of vaccination in the country.
“We are gauging the citizens spreading misinformation about vaccines,” he added and appealed to citizens to abstain from rumour-mongering and instead raise awareness about the effectiveness of vaccines manufactured in India.
This announcement comes after appeals from multiple heads of states who publicly announced difficulty in procuring vaccines from manufacturers directly, and were forced to shut down vaccination clinics in their regions.