In mid-April, as vaccine shortages were starting to become apparent and questions were starting to be raised about the Centre’s management ...
In mid-April, as vaccine shortages were starting to become apparent and questions were starting to be raised about the Centre’s management of the inoculation drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government made an abrupt announcement.
India, which at the time had covered less than 10% of its population with one shot, would be opening up eligibility to all adults starting May 1, while also selling vaccines on the open market and making private manufacturers compete with state governments to procure doses.
Many aspects of the new policy were baffling, with little explanation on offer from the Centre for why it was changing tack.
The new approach has been criticised by many, concerned that it fragments the market, since the Centre is no longer the only procurer, with states and private hospitals also competing for doses, and because it features unfair pricing mechanics while leaving important questions of equity in distribution to manufacturers, who have done more communication about the policy than the Centre.
The Indian Supreme Court has also questioned the government’s choice to let private hospitals charge up to Rs 2,400 for two vaccines, suggesting this may face a constitutional challenge on ground of treating citizens equally during a pandemic.
India’s vaccination rate in the first week of the new “liberalised, accelerated” policy, as Modi’s...
