CHENNAI:
DMK treasurer and Sriperumbudur MP
T R Baalu on Friday urged the
Centre to offer Covid-19
vaccine free of cost to all people in the country.
While developed countries are planning to offer 5-10 doses of the vaccine, every Indian should get at least two doses, Baalu said, while participating in an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“With an average cost of Rs 1,000 per vaccine approximately, the procurement cost of vaccine to cover 130 crore Indians and for two doses would work out to Rs 3.9 lakh crore. The government should not get enamoured by this huge cost,” Baalu said.
“It should be seen as an investment on Indian human resources. The expense can be met by the Centre and states as well as public sector units and also by tapping the CSR funds of the private sector,” he said.
So far 95 lakh Indians have been affected by
Covid-19 while 1.4 lakh people have lost their lives due to this pandemic. Comparatively, in China, where the coronavirus originated, only around 93,000 people have been affected and 4,744 died.
“The cost of PCR testing kits is not only high, but also varies from state to state. Hence, the Centre should not only enhance the number of tests being undertaken, but also try and bring the costs down, besides extending financial assistance to states,” Baalu said.