Administer Covid-19 vaccine free of cost to all above 18 years: IMA

PUDUCHERRY: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) appealed to the central government to administer Covid-19 vaccine free of cost to all people above the age of 18 years. It stated that the cost involved in the mass vaccination would be much lower than the economic gain the country would achieve.
In a joint statement, IMA national president J A Jayalal and honorary secretary-general Jayesh M Lele said the association was shocked to note that the cost per dose of vaccine for people above 45 years, which was fixed at Rs 250, was hiked to Rs 600 per dose after the Centre allowed the manufacturers to fix the cost of the vaccine.
"The IMA demands transparency in this and request the government to ensure the vaccine is given free to all people above the age of 18," the duo said.
They urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to route the vaccine in the open market through the Centre's Jan Aushadhi scheme after fixing its cost. They underlined the need for streamlining, monitoring and regulating the supply chain of all important drugs and vaccines.
"The Jan Aushadhi scheme need to be strengthened and the generic supply is enhanced," they said.
They opined that if the cost of the vaccine is not capped and Rs 35,000 crore earmarked in the budget is not utilized to administer vaccine free of cost to all people above 18 years, the ‘good intention' of the government will not yield any fruitful results but land in disaster.
"...the country will continue to suffer economic and healthcare crisis due to this pandemic," they said.
The IMA's healthcare advocacy unit urged Modi to chart out ways and means to make the vaccine reach out to all people at their nearest possible venues and make vaccination drive 'affordable, accessible and targeted'.
Arguing that the government has the moral responsibility and constitutional duty to extend the basic healthcare needs of the citizens, they said the government must give priority to mass vaccination drive as it not only enhances individual safety but also the community safety by paving way for the herd immunity.
The IMA pointed out that rapid progress in mass vaccination in countries like Israel, Chile and the UAE had helped them overcome the pandemic.