Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Kerala was facing a severe shortage of vaccines for the above 45 age group. The chief minister also wanted the Centre to bulk-purchase vaccines on behalf of all states in the country so as to keep the cost of vaccines low. Further, he said these vaccines should be provided to states free of cost.
Kerala's demands to the Centre were listed at the chief minister's customary sunset briefing on Monday. "We have not been able to conduct the vaccination according to our plans as a result of the non-availability of vaccines," the chief minister said.
"The vaccines required for those above 45 years of age are to be provided by the centre. But it has been quite some time since our stocks had gone empty. We have been constantly informing the centre of our plight," he said.
The chief minister said that vaccinating the maximum number of people was the only way to acquire herd immunity. He said Kerala was doing its part and had already invited global tenders to procure vaccines for the 18-44 age group.
At the moment, approximately 18.68 per cent of Kerala's population (projected at 3.55 crore) has taken at least one dose of vaccination. The first dose has been taken by 66,27,947 people, and 20,19,976 people have completed both the doses.
Centre as sole vaccine buyer
Nonetheless, he said that the existing policy that forces each state to invite global tenders to procure vaccines would only help to increase the price of vaccines. "When all state governments invite global tenders, there will be too many buyers, which in turn can cause the prices to skyrocket," the chief minister said.
Instead, Vijayan said that the Centre should take stock of each state's vaccine requirement and then, on the basis of the total requirement, go for a global tender for the entire country. "If this happens, the prices of vaccines can be kept at a minimum level," he said.
As it stands, the vaccines are already costly. The Serum Institute of India will supply Covishield at Rs 400 per vaccine to State Governments and Rs 600 to private hospitals. Bharat Biotech will sell Covaxin at Rs 600 for State Governments and Rs 1200 for private hospitals. Both vaccines will be available for Rs. 150 to the Central Government.
The chief minister said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to expedite steps for a global tender that would reflect the vaccine needs of the entire country. He also wants vaccines to be supplied free to all the states.
Covishield: Exemption from time gap
Along with non-availability, the timing of taking the second dose has also created problems. The chief minister said that the government would seek ways to exempt those waiting to fly back to work in other countries from the long 84-day gap between vaccination doses.
"Many people who work outside have raised the issue. The latest guideline is that the second dose of Covishield should be given only after 84 days. Since foreign countries accept outsiders only if they have completed both their vaccination doses, a person could lose his job if he has to get back to work before 84 days. There are many people who face this issue," the chief minister said.
He said the government was looking into ways to secure exemptions for such people.
Dilemma of Covaxin users
Covishield is at least recognised by foreign countries. That is not the case with the other locally-developed vaccine, Covaxin. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Union's European Medicines Agency (EMA) have still not cleared Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Under the existing circumstances, a person vaccinated with Covaxin will be barred from entering foreign countries.
"In this case, the Centre has already initiated steps by talking to the WHO. Hopefully, the vaccine will be recognised soon," the chief minister said.
