New Delhi: Amid a huge Covid vaccine shortage in India, nearly 10 states have decided to float global tenders in the international market to procure vaccines.
However, this has raised serious concerns over the portrayal of a wrong image of India globally as rather than having a centralized vaccine policy, states will now have to compete with each other to attain vaccine goals.
As the states are running short of vaccine stocks, many of them have stalled the vaccination of the people of 18 to 44 years age group to prioritise the administration of the second dose of vaccine to the people of over 45 years of age.
To have adequate stocks of vaccines to complete the vaccination drive, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana decided to put global tenders to procure vaccines.
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Meanwhile, many opposition parties and state governments have expressed concern over the portrayal of a "poor image" of India and urged the Central government to centralise the procurement of vaccines which in turn would support strong bargaining in vaccine prices.
Talking about the issue, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, "There is no vaccine policy anymore. Different states are being asked to fend for themselves, now states are floating global tenders. Where is the intention of 'One Nation, One Policy' for vaccines? Now different states will come up with different vaccines, different prices."
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre, Khera said, "When this should have been a consensus policy, it was centralized. Now, when it should be centralized, because you have really goofed it up with time, the government has not just failed but is abdicating from its responsibility, leaving every single Indian at the mercy of the highest bidder who will come and sell the vaccine for us all because poor state governments will have to pay whatever manufacturers now ask them to pay as we have delayed, defaulted and committed a huge blunder."
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, "Government's vaccination policy is totally flawed. Why are you making states of India race with each other? It's almost the fastest finger first. You have also made the states outdo each other as far as the pricing bidding war is concerned. The richer states will have more bargaining power, more deep pockets to buy vaccines but the poorer states will not."
RJD MP Manoj Jha also slammed the Central government over the issue by saying, "We do not know if there is any government and who are the people giving suggestions to this government. In vaccine policy, now states have been asked to manage on their own. What kind of self-reliant model is this? Was this cooperative federalism? This country has never fought with any pandemic like this even in the colonial era."
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He asserted, "I still want to urge the government to do a course correction and take states into confidence. Do centralised procurement of vaccines and supply them to the states as per their target. It should be evident that government is working for the welfare, not for its ego."
Earlier on Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took down to Twitter to raise the issue. He said, "Indian states left to compete/fight with each other in the international market. UP fighting Maharashtra, Maharashtra fighting Orissa, Orissa fighting Delhi. Where is “India”? This portrays such a bad image of India. India, as one country, should procure vaccines on behalf of all Indian states."
He further stated, "Also when we approach vaccine manufacturers and their countries as “India” rather than individual states, our bargaining power is much more, the Indian government has much more diplomatic space to negotiate with the countries."
Congress MP Manish Tewari in a Tweet said, "It does not require rocket science to figure out that if the different Indian States compete for the vaccine in International market manufacturer’s/suppliers will go laughing to the bank. Until and Until this architecture has been put in place in cahoots with the manufacturers/suppliers."
On Thursday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, "So far, 11 states have floated global tenders to procure vaccine due amid shortage. Because of this, states will get vaccines at different prices. It would have been better if the government would have floated global tenders and made vaccines available to the states in a planned manner as the entire vaccination drive can only prevent the third wave of coronavirus."
Before this, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had alleged that the Central government is pushing states to float global tenders for vaccines. He had also questioned that if states have to buy vaccines internationally then what is the role of the Central government.
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While announcing the third phase of the Covid vaccination drive, the Centre had said that it aims at "liberalised" vaccine pricing and scaling up of vaccine coverage by attracting new manufacturers at the domestic and international level and also allowed the state governments, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers.
In Thursday's press conference by the Ministry of Health, Niti Aayog's member VK Paul said, "FDA and WHO licensed foreign vaccines can easily enter India. We expect that Pfizer, Moderna and J&J will also come to India and start manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines. We are in constant touch with these vaccine manufacturers. Talks are on with all the three companies at the highest level of the diplomatic channel."
He also stated that states have been allowed to procure vaccines directly from the manufacturers.
