A day before Rajasthan is expected to float a global tender to import Covid-19 vaccines, chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said it would have been much better if the Centre had procured the vaccines on behalf of the states.
Rajasthan is among the 10-odd states to have announced a decision to float a global tender to procure the vaccines in view of the inability of the two vaccine manufacturers – Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India – to meet the growing demand for the vaccines.
It is still unclear when vaccine manufacturers abroad would be able to supply the jabs since they are believed to be in the process of servicing orders placed by other countries much in advance.
It was only last month that the Centre decided that it would only supply vaccines to states for older people and frontline workers and that states must directly procure its supplies to vaccinate people in the 18-44 age group.
In two tweets on Wednesday, Gehlot renewed calls from non-NDA ruled states to review this new central policy.
“Due to the lack of Covid-19 vaccine in the country, many states are taking out global tenders to get vaccines from other countries. It would have been better if the central government had taken out the global tender and bought the vaccine and distributed it in the states and later would have taken payment from the state governments,” he tweeted.
Ashok Gehlot, however, underlined that people did want that the Covid vaccine, like other vaccines, should be provided free of cost by the central government. “This will lead to a system of one-stop procurement that would be better for all states”, he said.
For now, the states can only try to import the three vaccines approved by the drug controller: Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik.
A senior health department official said the Rajasthan government was aiming to issue the expression of interest on Thursday. The firms will be asked when at what rate, and how many vaccines they can provide. “Only those vaccines will be procured which are approved by the Drug Controller General of India, he said.
He said the state has also procured oxygen concentrators through global tender. Around 62 companies in 13 countries were contacted before the government decided to source them from Russia, China, and Dubai.
Recently, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had stated that there is a need to speed up vaccination to curb the spread of the virus and reduce fatality. All options should be considered for the availability of vaccines in the state. “The state will consider importing Covid-19 vaccine to ensure that the residents of Rajasthan are vaccinated at the earliest,” he said.
Rajasthan officials said the shortage of vaccine has already slowed down the inoculation drive for the people in the 60-plus category. Over 52.20 lakh people in the 60-plus age group have received their first dose, of which
Only 29% (15.07 lakh) of the 53.2 lakh people in the 60-plus age group who received their first dose have received the second dose. The remaining are running pillar to post to get vaccinated.
In the 45-59 age group also, over 47.78 lakh people have been given the first dose. Of them, only 12% (5.66 lakh) have received the second dose.
