Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday appreciated the central government’s policy to buy vaccines for all beneficiary groups for distribution among states from June 21 even as he highlighted the role of the Supreme Court in this regard and expressed concerns over low production of vaccines in the country.
Vaccine shortage is concerning. It is a good thing that the central government has decided to buy vaccines and distribute them among states from June 21. We welcome the decision, even though it was done after the Supreme Court’s intervention and its pressure. Better late than never,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said during his visit to a site of an oxygen storage system in northwest Delhi’s Siraspur.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Union government will take over the responsibility of procuring vaccines and distributing them to the states. The action comes in the wake of growing demand for vaccines from the states, sharp criticism from the Supreme Court and increasing concerns that supply shortages and the insistence of foreign vaccine makers to deal only with the Union government could derail India’s vaccine drive.
The Union government will continue to allow private hospitals to buy up to 25% of the vaccines made in India, although it has capped the service charge they can levy on these at ₹150 a dose.
Kejrival, however, asked if there would be enough vaccines in view of the production capacity.
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