‘Only microscopic percentage inoculated in India’: Bengal CM tells PM Modi to speedily import vaccines

In her letter to PM Modi on Wednesday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the production, and hence the supply and distribution of vaccine doses in the country, is extremely inadequate and insignificant in context of the massive needs of the citizens at large.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to speed up the imports of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines from global manufacturers, adding that a liberal, pro-active and discerning import of vaccination is the paramount need.

Banerjee also suggested to Modi that the central government can encourage world players to open franchise operations in India.(Samir Jana/HT file photo)

Banerjee previously sent letters on the Covid-19 situation to PM Modi, seeking his and the central government’s help in vaccination drive, supply of oxygen and supply of essential drugs such as Remdesivir and Tocilizumab.

In her letter on Wednesday, Banerjee said the production, and hence the supply and distribution of vaccine doses in the country, is extremely inadequate and insignificant in context of the massive needs of the citizens at large. “About 10 crore people in West Bengal and 140 people in India need vaccination here and now, but only a microscopic percentage has been covered,” she informed PM Modi.

As more and more companies across the globe have started manufacturing vaccine doses amid the skyrocketing demand, the Bengal CM noted that with the assistance of experts and scientists, it will be possible to identify reputed and authentic manufacturers which have international reputation and credibility. “And it is possible for us in India to speedily import vaccines from those ends across different parts of the world,” Banerjee subsequently wrote in the letter.

She also suggested to Modi that the central government can encourage world players to open franchise operations in India. Even the national manufacturers can be inspired to opt for franchise mode for bulk production of vaccine doses, the chief minister said.

West Bengal has so far inoculated 12,146,487 beneficiaries of which 8,785,144 have received the first dose and the remaining 3,361,343 have received both doses. One of the worst affected states by the pandemic across India, West Bengal’s daily tally of the Covid-19 disease breached the 20,000-mark on Tuesday with 20,136 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 1,032,740.

Meanwhile, 10 states - including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha - have said they will float global tenders to purchase vaccine doses from foreign manufactures amid a shortage of doses to inoculate eligible beneficiaries. However, officials in these states told Hindustan Times on Tuesday that there is no clarity on when the foreign manufacturers will be able to provide doses.