He also appealed to vaccine manufacturers to keep the prices uniform for both, Centre and States at Rs 150/dose after reports came in of varying procurement prices.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that it will provide free COVID-19 vaccines for the eligible criteria of individuals above 18. The Delhi Government also announced the purchase of 1.34 crore vaccines.
According to NDTV, this decision is likely to be only for Delhi Government-run hospitals. Those going to private hospitals will still have to pay for their Covid shots. Delhi joins a long list of states who’ve decided to offer the vaccines for free of cost including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala etc
He also appealed to vaccine manufacturers to keep the prices uniform for both, Centre and States at Rs 150/dose after reports came in of varying procurement prices. The Centre however insisted that it will continue to provide vaccines to states free of cost.
“We will make an effort to ensure that it is purchased soon and administered at the earliest to people.”
Arvind Kejriwal.
“One vaccine producer said that they’ll provide vaccines to the state governments at ₹ 400 a dose and the second producer said that they’ll provide at ₹ 600 a dose. Both of them will keep the price at ₹ 150 a dose for the central government. I hope the prices remain the same for all,” added the Chief Minister.
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While liberalising the vaccination drive starting May 1, the Centre announced changes to its policy so that states and private hospitals can buy vaccines directly from the manufacturers.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the argument that the Centre was getting vaccines cheaper than states was “patently false”. “The actual situation is that states are getting one guaranteed channel of free vaccine supply, while it can simultaneously procure vaccines from another channel as per its aspirations and commitment to its people,” he wrote.
Delhi reported close to 23000 cases and 350 deaths in the last 24 hours.
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