Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 19: The Centre on Monday opened the Covid-19 vaccination for everyone above the age of 18 from May 1. The decision was taken at a high-level review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with doctors and members of the pharma industry.
The government said procurement, eligibility, administration of vaccines are being made flexible in Phase 3 of world’s largest vaccination drive.
Among other major decisions taken at the meeting included that the vaccine manufacturers have been incentivised to further scale up production, attract new national and international players.
Vaccine manufacturers have also been empowered to release up to 50% of their supply to State governments and in open market at pre-declared price. But the other 50 per cent would have to be supplied to the Government of India.
States have been empowered to procure additional vaccine doses directly from manufacturers.
Second dose for priority groups — healthcare and frontline workers, population above 45 years — wherever it is due will get priority, the government added.
Modi told the meeting that the government had been working hard from over a year to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time. He added that India is vaccinating people at world record pace and “we will continue this with even greater momentum”.
The nationwide vaccination programme was launched on January 16 for healthcare and frontline workers. It was expanded to the senior citizens and people with co=morbidities above the age of 45 from March 1 and then for all above the age of 45 from April 1.
Modi also interacted with the country’s leading doctors to review the public health response to Covid-19. The prime minister thanked all the healthcare professionals for helping the country in fight against Covid-19.
“Last year, during the same time, it was due to our doctors’ hard work and the nation’s strategy that we were able to control the coronavirus wave,” Modi said while addressing the doctors via video conferencing. “Now that the country is facing the second wave of coronavirus, all the doctors, our frontline workers are confronting the pandemic with full force, and are saving the lives of millions of people,” he added.
Talking about the supply of essential medicines and oxygen, Modi said the state governments have been given necessary guidelines about these. Many state governments, including worst-hit Maharashtra, urged the Centre to provide medical oxygen, claiming that the supply is running short.
Modi said vaccination was the biggest weapon in the fight against coronavirus. He urged the doctors to encourage more and more patients to get vaccinated. He asked the doctors to educate people against several rumours on Covid treatment and prevention. “In these difficult times, it is very important that people do not become a victim of panic,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also encouraged doctors to use tele-medicine for treatment of other diseases, in case there was no emergency.
One of the focus areas in Modi’s meeting with the doctors was the spread of the disease in smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. He urged doctors to connect with their colleagues working in these cities and give them online consultations to ensure that all protocols are followed correctly emphasising on the need to upgrade resources in such places.
Here are the five big decisions taken at the review meeting:
Everyone above the age of 18 will get Covid-19 vaccine from May 1. PM said that the government has been working hard from over a year to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time. He added that India is vaccinating people at world record pace and we will continue this with even greater momentum.
On pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of vaccines: These have been made flexible in phase 3 of the nationwide vaccination drive. The national vaccine strategy aims at liberalised vaccine pricing and scaling up of vaccine coverage.
The states have been empowered to procure additional doses of Covid-19 directly from the manufacturers, as well as open up vaccination to any category of people above the age of 18.
The vaccine manufacturers have also been empowered to release up to 50 per cent of their supply to state governments and in the open market at a pre-declared price. But they will have to supply 50 per cent of their monthly central drugs laboratory (CDL) released doses to the Government of India.
The vaccine manufacturers will be incentivised to further scale up their production, as well as attract new national and international players. However, the inoculation drive will continue as before in Government of India’s vaccination centres, and will be provided free of cost to the eligible population as defined earlier: healthcare workers, frontline workers and all people above 45 years of age, the Centre said.