In a country where political parties have promised voters all kinds of freebies바카라ranging from mundane chappals to the intangible WiFi바카라pledging a free vaccine in the time of a pandemic almost seems like a justifiable gesture. However, when finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced free COVID-19 vaccination as part of the BJP바카라s manifesto for Bihar, other political parties cried foul, saying the ruling party was using the pandemic for political gains. Some states like Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh were quick to join the race and announced free vaccination, making it difficult for other state governments to charge for the vaccine, whenever it is cleared for use after the necessary trials.
Other states and Union territories are being cautious and not willing to join the 바카라free vaccine바카라 chorus. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope says they want to wait for the vaccine to come to the state first and then decide on the cost. 바카라The cost factor would be discussed once the vaccine comes, but it will definitely be subsidised,바카라 he adds. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal too has desisted from making a commitment on offering free vaccination. 바카라Why only Bihar? The entire country is facing the corona pandemic. Everyone has a right to free vaccines,바카라 he told mediapersons in response to the BJP바카라s announcement. When asked whether his government would also give it free, he said: 바카라We will see when it comes and how much it costs, and then decide.바카라
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As a policy decision, even the BJP is not willing to go beyond Bihar as of now. National general secretary and BJP in-charge Bhupender Yadav says vaccines will be made available to all citizens at a nominal cost. It is upon the states to make it free for their people. 바카라In Bihar, we will,바카라 he asserts. The BJP leader does not see anything wrong in promising free vaccination to all. On the other hand, he believes, it will have a positive impact. 바카라It is a matter of public health and it is high time it became a policy issue. If farm loans can be an issue, then why not health? If a government can waive off farmers바카라 debts, then why cannot it give a free vaccine that will not only save the person who is administered the vaccine, but 10 others as Covid spreads so fast. 바카라Zindagi bachaane ka kaam Sarkar ka hai바카라 (It is the duty of the government to save lives),바카라 says Yadav.
Moreover, the Covid vaccine will not be the first vaccine administered free in India. There are more than a dozen others that are given free under the Universal Immunisation Programme, including vaccines to combat rotavirus, rubella, polio, Japanese encephalitis, measles, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumococcal pneumonia.
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The Election Commission also cleared the BJP, stating that the promise of free vaccine did not violate the model code of conduct, and that it was a welfare measure that the State could decide on as per the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution. The complaint was that the promise of free vaccination was 바카라discriminatory and a misuse of powers by the central government during elections바카라, but the EC did not concur.
Public health policy experts believe that the issue of Covid vaccine did not get politicised after the BJP announced it as a poll freebie in Bihar, the state that witnessed one of the worst post-lockdown migrant crises. 바카라It became politicised the day ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) pushed for fast-tracking of clinical trial approvals of Covaxin, aiming to launch an indigenous Covid vaccine by August 15, 2020,바카라 explains an expert, requesting anonymity. 바카라India wanted to be the first in the world to come out with a vaccine. Now it is likely to be launched by mid-2021, depending upon the requisite approvals from regulatory bodies. These things cannot be fast-tracked.바카라 It took a decade for the rotavirus vaccine to come out, including a four-year trial period.
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So the problem is not with giving the vaccine free, but in rushing through with it without testing its efficacy and without studying its long-term impact. If the Narendra Modi government wanted to be the first with the vaccine to earn global applause, then Donald Trump administration바카라s attempt at the ambitious Operation Warp Seed바카라to enable access to the vaccine by October바카라was clearly aimed at his presidential re-run. China and Russia, also in the race for the first vaccine, have been criticised by scientists across the world for not vetting potential safety issues adequately. Incidentally, China had to take on the global polity in the initial stages of the pandemic too, when it began to be widely known as the Wuhan virus or the Chinese virus. It is believed to have used its influence with the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure that labelling of the virus based on place of origin was avoided.
Whatever may be the reason for politicisation of the vaccine in various countries, including India, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Experts are of the view that Covid has finally brought health into the public discourse, and the sector may finally get the attention it deserves. Neeraj Jain, India country director of PATH, agrees that the pandemic has changed the priorities of health systems around the world. 바카라There is a greater understanding that without improving health, we cannot address poverty and development, which is leading to greater political commitment for strengthening health systems,바카라 he says. PATH is part of COVAX, which is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. COVAX is a global effort to ensure that people in all corners of the world, regardless of their wealth or income, get access to Covid vaccines once they are available.
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바카라Countries are faced with the immense challenge of rapidly responding to the pandemic, while continuing to make progress against other health goals,바카라 says Jain. 바카라With limited time and resources, existing barriers to health services and inefficiencies in health systems appear magnified. But many countries, including India, are translating the urgency around COVID-19 into opportunities to create more resilient health systems.바카라 According to him, equitable access for all should be the guiding principle for any rollout of the vaccine. His simple formula: 바카라Those who can afford to pay should pay and those who cannot should get it for free.바카라
Public policy expert Rajendra Pratap Gupta agrees that the vaccine should not be free for all. For him, the bigger issue is putting a proper system of rollout in place with proper coordination among various agencies. 바카라We do have a disparate system with agencies working in silos, but it is still very much doable,바카라 he says. Gupta suggests use of technology, automation and existing apps like Aarogya Setu, which has more than 163 million downloads, for vaccine delivery.
However, the bigger challenge would be Centre바카라s coordination with the state governments, given that health is a state subject and the implementation of the vaccine programme needs to be done by the states. 바카라There must be complete trust between the Modi government at the Centre and the various state governments. Only then can there be proper coordination needed for smooth implementation of the vaccine programme,바카라 says a BJP leader.
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