These states will be offering Covid-19 vaccines for free

As the second wave of Covid-19 ravages India, the Union government recently announced that everyone above 18 years of age would be eligible to get vaccinated against Covid-19 from May 1.

The Centre liberalised the vaccination drive to allow states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure the vaccine doses directly from manufacturers.

Under the third phase of the national vaccination drive commencing next month, the vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the central government and would be free to supply the remaining 50 per cent doses to state governments and in the open markets.

Major vaccine-maker Serum Institute of India has announced a price of Rs 400 per dose for its Covid-19 vaccine 'Covishield' for state governments and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.

Read more: States must jointly negotiate uniform Covid-19 vaccine price with manufacturers, says Chidambaram

Against the backdrop of these announcements, many states have come forward to offer free vaccines to the ones falling in the 18-45 age bracket.

Here are some of the states that have already made an announcement along those lines:

Haryana: The Manohar Lal Khattar-led Haryana government is the latest entrant to the list after it made an announcement on April 24 to provide free vaccines to everyone above the age of 18 in the state. It said that the registration for the drive will begin on April 28 and only those who have registered will get the vaccine.

Andhra Pradesh: The southern state is also set to offer free vaccines to the said age group and said that the decision would incur an expense of about Rs 1,600 crore and would benefit over two crore people out of a total population of 5.34 crore in the state.

Arunachal Pradesh: The northeastern state’s Cabinet on April 23 approving procurement of four lakh Covishield vaccine doses to be administered for free to people in the age group of 18 to 45 years, official sources said. The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pema Khandu also approved an allotment of Rs 65 crore for procurement of the vaccine.

Uttarakhand: Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said on April 23 the said age group will be inoculated against Covid-19 for free and that exercise will begin in the first week of May. A population of around 50 lakh will be covered under the drive, which will cost an estimated Rs 400 crore to the state exchequer, Rawat said.

Jharkhand: Chief Minister Hemant Soren on April 22 said that his government will provide Covid-19 vaccine to people above 18 years of age for free.

Himachal Pradesh: Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also made a similar announcement on the same day, stating that the decision was made keeping in mind the welfare of the general public although it would be a huge burden on the exchequer. The free vaccine will be provided in government health institutions, he added.

Read: Vaccines for 18-45 age group pose fiscal challenge for Karnataka govt

Punjab: Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on April 22 said that the vaccine against Covid-19 would be supplied free of cost in all government healthcare facilities.

Tamil Nadu: Chief Minister K Palaniswami’s govt also announced that the state would hold free Covid-19 vaccine camps, adding that the districts which were the most affected by the pandemic will be prioritised in conducting such camps. Palaniswami had made an announcement last year that the government will provide the vaccine free of cost once it was ready and beneficiaries in the earlier phases--senior citizens and those above 45 with comorbidities and all over 45 years of age-- have been inoculated at government hospitals at no cost.

Goa: The Goa government joined the list on the same say and said that it would inoculate those between the ages of 18 to 45 against coronavirus free of cost and said that the state government will purchase 5 lakh doses from the Serum Institute of India.

Bihar: The Nitish Kumar government on April 21 announced that it will provide free Covid-19 vaccination to all aged above 18, extending the facility provided to citizens of the state of other categories so far. Free vaccination was announced by the NDA in the Bihar assembly elections in November-December last year and it is being fulfiled by the Nitish Kumar ministry.

Sikkim: Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang also said that his government would inoculate the state’s citizens against Covid-19 free of cost. He added that the state government will bear the cost of the Centre doesn’t bear it.

Kerala: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the Left government would provide the vaccine against Covid-19 free of cost for everyone in the state. "Vaccines will be provided free of cost for everyone in Kerala. We don't have the habit of changing our stance like others. We had announced free vaccines in the State," Vijayan had said.

Madhya Pradesh: Making an announcement along similar lines, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said, "A detailed guidelines of the Government of India will be issued later, but the people above the age of 18 will be vaccinated for free in Madhya Pradesh.”

Chhattisgarh: The Bhupesh Baghel government said that the state will pay for the coronavirus vaccination of people over 18 years of age. "We will take all possible steps to protect the lives of our citizens," a release quoted Baghel as saying.

Assam: State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Assam government will vaccinate everyone in the 18-45 age group for free from May 1. Funds collected in Asom Arogya Nidhi account last year shall be utilised for procuring the vaccines, he said. In September last year, Sarma had informed the Assembly that a total of Rs 116.1 crore contribution from 53,534 people have been received in the account of the Asom Arogya Nidhi to support the government's efforts in handling the pandemic.

Uttar Pradesh: The Yogi Adityanath government was amongst the first ones to announce free vaccination to everyone above the age of 18.

Jammu and Kashmir: Covid-19 vaccination will be administered free of cost for people aged between 18-45 years in Jammu and Kashmir and the cost will be borne fully by the J&K government for which a panel will be constituted by the health department to work out the logistics.

(With Agency inputs)