JOIN USWhy one nation, many prices for vaccines, asks Congress
A day after welcoming the Centre’s expansion of the vaccine policy, Congress on Tuesday accused the government of running away from its responsibility of ensuring vaccination of those in the age group of 18-45 years.
Congress leaders dubbed the new vaccination strategy as discriminatory and one that could lead to an unhealthy bidding war among state governments and vaccine makers.
“No free vaccines for 18-45-year-olds. Middlemen brought in without price controls. No vaccine guarantee for weaker sections. Government of India’s Vaccine Discrimination – Not Distribution – Strategy,” former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said.
“This is a government that believes in one nation, one tax; one nation one election. Then have many prices for vaccines,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told an online press conference here.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram claimed that the new vaccination policy will increase inequality between states as well as the rich and the poor.
“While we welcome the positive changes made to the vaccine policy, we are constrained to point out that the devil is in the details,” Chidambaram said adding that the Centre has left it to the states to vaccinate persons below the age of 45 years.
“In a country where the median age is 28 years, to leave those below the age of 45 years out of a public-funded programme is, to say the least, callous,” the former Finance Minister said.
He said by not fixing a price for state governments to buy vaccines at the same rate as the Centre, the Modi government was paving the way for “unhealthy price bidding and profiteering”.
“States with limited resources will be at a considerable disadvantage. States that are already weighed down by shrinking GST revenues, lower tax devolution, reduced grants-in-aid and increased borrowing would have to bear this additional burden,” Chidambaram said.