The Centre on Monday informed the Kerala High Court that only 57 per cent of the Covid vaccines produced in the country was reaching the people. The court also asked the Centre why Covid vaccination was not being given free to all.
The Centre's revelation came at a time when Covid vaccination drive in many states was hit due to short supply of vaccines.
According to the affidavit, India is producing 8.5 crore doses of Covid vaccine monthly. While 28.33 lakh doses of vaccines are being produced daily in the country, only 12 to 13 lakh doses are being distributed. There was no fixed plans or targets for the vaccine distribution.
Hearing pleas challenging the Centre's vaccine policy, division Bench of justices Vinod Chandran and M R Anitha even suggested that excess funds from the Reserve Bank of India ( may be used for vaccinating all free of cost. The country's 137 crore people can be vaccinated spending Rs 34,000 crore.
The Centre could procure vaccines at Rs 150 or Rs. 250 and this amount could be sourced from the Rs. 54,000 crore dividend from the RBI to the Centre, the court suggested.
Counsel for the Centre termed it as a policy matter and said he required more time to respond. The matter was adjourned for a statement from the Centre.
(Published 24 May 2021, 17:13 IST)
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