Odisha CM pitches for vaccine procurement by central govt

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday wrote to all the chief ministers, urging them to build a consensus over procurement of vaccines by the Centre for distribution among states.

Patnaik wrote that no state is safe unless all the states adopt vaccination as the topmost priority and execute it on war-footing. "Many states have floated global tenders for vaccine procurement.

But, it is quite clear that the global manufacturers are looking forward to the Centre for clearances and assurances." They are unwilling to get into supply contracts with the states. Domestic vaccine makers are having supply constraints and are not able to commit required supplies."

Under these circumstances, the best option available is for the Centre to procure vaccines and distribute them among the states so that the people are vaccinated at the earliest, he said.

‘Govt encouraging black marketing'

The Kerala government on Wednesday claimed in the HC in Kochi that the Centre's vaccination policy was ‘encouraging' black marketing. The state's attorney questioned the decision to fix different rates for procuring vaccines for both the Centre and the state governments. He said the rates must be fixed based on the cost of production.

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