Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday that American drug company Pfizer and Moderna refused to sell vaccines directly to Delhi. He stressed that the vaccine manufacturers have clearly stated that ‘they will only deal with the central government’.
Kejriwal told reporters today, “We have talked to Pfizer, Moderna for the vaccines, and both companies have refused to sell the vaccines directly to us.” They have said that they will only deal with the Government of India. ” In addition, he appealed to the Center to import vaccines and distribute them to the states.
Due to the exhaustion of the vaccine dose, Delhi was forced to stop the vaccination campaign for the age group of 18+. Kejriwal had said that the capital city would require 80 lakh doses to vaccinate people aged 18-44, however, the Center has given 16 lakh and 8 lakh doses to the Delhi government only for May and June respectively.
The CM said that the central government should take the formula from India Biotech to other companies making vaccines and immediately order them to start production.
Foreign vaccines should be allowed to be used in India and instead of states, the central government itself purchases vaccines from foreign companies. The countries that have accumulated more vaccines than their population, the central government should request them to take the vaccine.
Earlier on Sunday, the Punjab government also made similar claims. A senior state official had said that Moderna refused to send the vaccine directly to the Punjab government, saying that it only deals with the Center .