Free vaccine for all in Delhi govt facilities

NEW DELHI: Delhi will provide free Covid-19 vaccine to all residents above 18 years of age in government facilities, CM Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday. He said the government had already approved the purchase of 1.3 crore doses and the next phase of vaccination would be rolled out on a war footing from May 1.
Vaccination in private hospitals will be chargeable. Kejriwal demanded that the Centre allow all age groups to be vaccinated.
“The rapid spread of coronavirus cases is worrying many people. The only solution in sight seems to be the vaccine and ensuring a swift administration campaign for the same. Considering this, Delhi government has decided to administer the vaccine for free to all residents of Delhi who are above 18. It will be our effort to carry this out swiftly and efficiently,” Kejriwal said.
Vaccine is emerging as a solution to this pandemic. Those who have been administered the vaccine are either not contracting the virus or only mild forms of it. They can recover at home. Even when they require hospitalisation, their recovery is swift. If we move with this observation, then successful vaccination of everyone will mean that the severity of the pandemic will end. Coronavirus will become like any other disease — manageable and with success rates of recovery,” the CM said.
Kejriwal sought parity in the vaccine price for Centre and state governments. He appealed to the manufacturers to cap the price at Rs 150 per dose.
“Different manufacturers have priced the vaccine at Rs 400 and Rs 600 for state governments and at Rs 150 for the central government. I believe that the price should be the same for everyone.”
He said it was not the time for companies to make profit. “At a time when central and state governments are capping the rate at which medicines and other facilities should be made available to people, vaccines should also be moderately priced. It is my appeal to the manufacturers that they, on their own, bring down the price to Rs 150 for everyone. There is a lifetime to make a profit, this is the time to help people,” Kejriwal said.