Amid scarcity in provide of vaccines to combat coronavirus pandemic, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday wrote to his counterparts in all non-BJP dominated states and requested them to make a “united effort” to demand the Centre to procure Covid-19 vaccines and distribute them at free of cost.
The letter was written to the Chief Ministers of 11 states such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
“When the nation is passing through the second surge, it is quite unfortunate that there appears to be an attempt by the Centre to absolve itself of its bounden duty to provide adequate supply of vaccine to the States,” the letter reads.
Wrote to 11 CMs within the spirit of Cooperative Federalism. Quite unlucky that Centre absolves itself of its responsibility to procure vaccines, guarantee free common vaccination. United effort to collectively pursue our real demand is the necessity of the hour, in order that Centre acts instantly. pic.twitter.com/ILvEFYSpRu— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) May 31, 2021
The Chief Minister additionally identified that if the burden of procuring vaccine is left to fall completely and even considerably on the States, their fiscal scenario might be in dire straits.
“Herd immunity might be efficient solely when a considerable part of the inhabitants is vaccinated. As on date, solely 3-4 per cent of the individuals have been administered two doses of Covid-19 vaccine,” he mentioned.
He also stated that vaccine manufacturing firms are engaged in looking for financial gains by exploiting the scarce supply situation. “Foreign pharmaceutical companies are unwilling to enter into agreement with the States for procuring vaccine. India has public sector pharmaceutical companies which are capable of taking up the production of vaccine,” he mentioned in his letter.
He additionally requested the central authorities to take crucial steps to be sure that mental property legal professionals rights and patent legal guidelines and conventions don’t stand in the way in which of producing Covid-19 vaccine, which ought to have the standing of a public good. “Options like obligatory licensing needs to be explored by the Union Government,” he added.
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