New Delhi: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday came down heavily on a few state governments for “politicizing Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination issue.”
“Politicising the important public health issue of COVID19 and spreading panic regarding vaccine supply is a damning indictment of certain leaders and their own fallacies…Let’s focus energies, defeat the pandemic & fulfil our solemn public duty,” said Dr Vardhan while rejecting the claims made by Maharastra and Odisha government that they have scarcity of Covid19 vaccine.
Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope has said that the state was running short of Covid vaccines, especially in urban centres. He urged the Centre to send in additional stocks. Similarly, the Odisha government has also requested the Health Ministry to release more doses of the vaccine while adding that the state can only conduct vaccinations for another three days with the available stock.
Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Punjab government had also occasionally criticized the central government and its way of tackling the Covid19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has said that all the states have required numbers of Covid19 doses for their citizens.
The Union Health Minister, who was also keeping a close watch over the vaccine availability to the states, took a strong note of such claims made by the state governments.
Read: Opposition slams Center over "need vs want" debate on COVID vaccine
He also condemned the state governments for their failure in implementing Covid19 behaviours in the state.
“I have seen with growing dismay a number of irresponsible statements from some State government functionaries in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. As these statements have the potential to mislead the public and spread panic, it has become necessary to put the record straight. At a time when the country is witnessing a fresh wave of rising COVID-19 infections, I am alarmed to note the fact that many State governments have failed to take appropriate response measures and apply the lessons that the nation has learned over the past one year of handling this pandemic,” said Dr Vardhan.
Dr Vardhan also countered claims that all people above 18 years of age should be vaccinated.
“Most concerning of all are the statements being made by a section of political leaders asking to open up vaccination to everyone above the age of 18, or to drastically lower the minimum age criteria for vaccination eligibility,” said Dr Vardhan.
He said that the Government of India has been frequently and transparently updating all the State governments about the demand-supply dynamics and the resultant vaccination strategy that has been adopted.
In fact, the vaccination strategy has been drawn up after extensive deliberations and consultations in partnership with all State governments.
He said that the primary aim of vaccination is to reduce mortality among the most vulnerable people, and enable the society to beat the pandemic.
Dr Vardhan said that as the supply of vaccines remains limited, there is no option but to prioritize. “This is also the established practice around the world, and is well known to all State governments,” he said.
“When states ask to open up vaccine supplies to everyone over 18, we must presume that they have done saturation coverage of healthcare workers, frontline workers and senior citizens. But the facts are altogether different,” he said.
Dr Vardhan said that Maharashtra has vaccinated just 86 per cent of health workers with first dose. The equivalent numbers for Delhi and Punjab are 72 per cent and 64 per cent. On the other hand, 10 Indian states and UTs have done more than 90 per cent.
“Maharashtra has vaccinated just 41 per cent of healthcare workers with a second dose. Equivalent numbers for Delhi and Punjab are 41 per cent and 27 per cent. There are 12 Indian states and UTs that have done more than 60 per cent,” he said.
Giving statistics, Dr Vardhan further said that among frontline workers, Maharashtra has vaccinated only 73 per cent with first dose. Equivalent numbers for Delhi and Punjab are 71 per cent and 65 per cent. There are 5 Indian states and UTs that have already done more than 85 per cent.
“Vaccination of frontline workers with second does for Maharashtra is at 41 per cent. For Delhi and Punjab, these numbers are 22 per cent and 20 per cent. There are 6 Indian states and UTs that have done more than 45 per cent,” he said .
When it comes to senior citizens, Maharashtra has vaccinated just 25 percent, Delhi has vaccinated 30 per cent & Punjab has vaccinated only 13 per cent. There are 4 states and UTs that have already vaccinated more than 50 percent, the minister said.
Read: Eight bodies of Covid-19 patients cremated on single pyre in Maharashtra
“Doesn’t it seem evident that these states are trying to divert attention from their poor vaccination efforts by just continuously shifting the goal-posts? Politicizing such a public health issue is a damning indictment of certain political leaders who should know better,” Dr Vardhan further said.
"In particular, I have seen statements made by public representatives in Maharashtra about shortage of vaccines. This is nothing but an attempt to divert attention from Maharashtra government’s repeated failures to control the spread of pandemic. The inability of the Maharashtra government to act responsibly is beyond comprehension. To spread panic among the people is to compound the folly further. Vaccine supplies are being monitored on a real-time basis, and State governments are being apprised regularly about it. Allegations of vaccine shortage are utterly baseless," he claimed.
“Throughout the last year, as the Health Minister of India, I have been a witness to the misgovernance and utter casual approach of the Maharashtra Government in battling the virus. The lackadaisical attitude of the state government has singularly bogged down the entire country’s efforts to fight the virus,” he said.
“Today, Maharashtra not only has the highest cases and deaths in the country but also has one of the highest test positivity rates in the world! Their testing is not up to the mark and their contact tracing leaves a lot to be desired,” Dr Vardhan said.
The health minister also criticized the openly Chhattisgarh government. “We have seen regular comments by leaders from Chhattisgarh that are intended to spread misinformation and panic on vaccination. I would like to humbly state that it would be better if the state government focuses its energies on ramping up their health infrastructure rather than on petty politicking,” he said.
Chhattisgarh has seen a disproportionately higher number of deaths in the last 2-3 weeks. Their testing remains heavily dependent on rapid antigen tests which is not a wise strategy, DR Vardhan said.
“The state Government in fact refused to use Covaxin despite it being given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Drug Controller of India. Not only this, by its actions, the leaders of the state government have the dubious distinction of being perhaps the only government in the world to have incited vaccine hesitancy,” he said.
Read: Congress lashes at PM Modi, says he must maintain social distancing in his rallies
