E-Paper
States' fault if there is vaccine supply issue now, says Harsh Vardhan
States were informed in advance about the Covid-19 vaccine supply in July, the health minister said.
Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said several state politicians are making irresponsible statements regarding the vaccination against Covid-19, which is now centralised. Dismissing such criticism that despite the Centre now managing vaccination, there is a crunch, the health minister said that if there is any issue in any particular state, they need to better plan their drives. The minister also said that vaccination speed has picked up after the Centre started providing 75 per cent of vaccines free to states and in June 11.50 crore doses have been administered.
"If there are issues in states, it shows that they need to better plan their #vaccination drives. Intra-state planning & logistics are the responsibility of the states. I request these leaders to desist from their shameless urge to play politics even in the midst of a pandemic," the health minister tweeted.
State political leaders need to focus on governance, the minister said, adding, "Will again request state leaders to spend more energies in planning and not in creating panic."
The West Bengal government has complained of scarcity of Covid-19 vaccines and has now decided to utilise 50 per cent of the future supply for the second dose. Other states that have flagged vaccine shortage issues include Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. In Chennai, there have been flash protests on Wednesday over vaccine shortage. Odisha too shut vaccination centres citing depletion of the stock.
The health minister said under the new centralised vaccine policy, the states were informed in advance of their future supply.
A total of 12 crore doses will be made available in July excluding that of private hospitals. "This information was shared with states 15 days prior, along with details about day-wise supply," Harsh Vardhan wrote.
The Centre's supply to states and UTs depend on population, Covid-19 situation and vaccine wastage. Though West Bengal's vaccine wastage is negative, it is not getting fewer shots than many smaller states, it has been alleged.
