New Delhi: While many states are facing shortage of covid-19 vaccine doses, Centre is still exporting vaccines. Asking if the export is an oversight, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeting various hurdles that the country is facing on vaccination front.
The leader has called India’s vaccination pace extremely slow while adding that at this rate, it would take many years for the country to inoculate event the 75 per cent of its population.
The letter included his seven point demands including providing vaccine suppliers with necessary resources to increase manufacturing capacity, fast-tracking the approval process of other vaccines as per norms and guidelines, increasing the allocation of ₹35,000 crore for vaccine procurement, allowing states a greater say in vaccine procurement and distribution and providing direct income support to the vulnerable sections are some of his other demands.
He also said that the government must stop export of the vaccine and open vaccination for all adults. As of now, the vaccine doses are being administered to people above the age of 45.
“Historically, India has achieved abundant experience in designing and executing some of the world’s biggest vaccination programmes. Yet in the present case, we have managed to fully vaccinate less than 1% of the population in 3 months,” Gandhi wrote in his letter.
The Congress leader in his letter also emphasised that the states should be given authority to procure vaccines according to their need. “Even though public health is a state subject, our states have been bypassed right from vaccine procurement to registration.”
“Vaccination programme has to move beyond “an individual’s picture on the vaccine certificate, towards guaranteeing maximum vaccination,” he further added.
