Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asserted that a fair and inclusive COVID-19 vaccine access strategy should have been in place by now and said the government’s alleged “unpreparedness” is “alarming”.

Mr. Gandhi had earlier demanded that the government clearly define an inclusive and equitable vaccine access policy to ensure its affordability and fair distribution.

“A fair and inclusive Covid vaccine access strategy should have been in place by now. But there are still no signs of it,” he said in a tweet.

“GOI’s (Government of India) unpreparedness is alarming,” the former Congress chief said, tagging his August 14 tweet in which he said India will soon be one of the COVID-19 vaccine-producing countries and the government must spell out its strategy.

Human trials on various COVID vaccines are currently underway across the world, including in India.

The Centre has set up an expert committee to engage with all stakeholders including state governments and vaccine manufacturers and its terms of reference include selecting suitable vaccines, their procurement and delivery and prioritising groups to administer them.