Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to 11 non-BJP chief ministers for a concerted move to resolve the vaccine issue. The letter called on the states to jointly demand that the vaccine be fully procured directly by the Center and distributed free of cost.
The letter was sent to the chief ministers of 11 states – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The Chief Minister said that it was the unfortunate attitude of the Center to wash its hands of the responsibility of providing vaccine to the states as the country was going through the second wave of Covid. The central position is that states should find the vaccine on their own. However, the vaccine is only available in very limited quantities.
Pinarayi Vijayan points out that foreign drug companies do not want to enter into agreements with the state governments to make the vaccine available. Therefore, he pointed out that Kerala had sent a letter to the Prime Minister asking the Center to call for a global tender considering the vaccine requirements of all the states.
Experts believe that there is a possibility of a third wave after the second wave. If so, be prepared to face it. For that, it is important to develop higher immunity through universal vaccination. Therefore, the vaccine needs to be made universally available for the public good. No one can be denied the vaccine for lack of money.
If the full responsibility for stockpiling the vaccine falls on the states, the economic status of the states will be in danger. It is important to ensure the financial security of the states in the federal system in India. Challenging it will weaken our federal system and be harmful to democracy itself. In addition to this, Pinarayi says, it will create obstacles in the development of hard immunity.
A large segment of the population needs to be vaccinated if hereditary immunity is to develop. However, only 3.1% of people in the country have received two doses of the vaccine so far. Vaccine manufacturers, on the other hand, try to maximize profits in view of the scarcity of vaccine availability. There are several public sector companies in India capable of producing vaccines. The Central Government should ensure that intellectual property rights, patent laws and agreements do not preclude the manufacture of vaccines that are available for public use. The Central Government should explore the possibilities, including compulsory licensing.
Statements that the full responsibility for vaccine availability rests with the states challenge the very basic tenets of cooperative federalism. What is most urgent at this stage is to jointly put forward the legitimate demand of the States that the vaccine is procured directly by the Center and distributed free of charge to the States. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan clarified in the letter that this will reduce the cost.
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