Leader of Opposition Siddarmaiah has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine is accessible and available to everyone free of cost.
In a letter addressed to Mr. Modi, he pointed out that while India has approved two vaccines for administration in many phases, the progress is very slow. “India has only administered the vaccine to 0.5% or less of the population, while other countries are making huge strides to increase the immunity among its people,” he said.
“India can progress only when the vaccines are widely available at zero cost to the population. The decision of the Central government to allow private healthcare centres to charge ₹250 for administering the vaccine will adversely impact the efforts to ensure immunity to everyone,” he said in the letter.
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He pointed out that many countries, including Brazil, Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, have made the vaccines free. “Though it is the right approach to collaborate with private health centres, both Central and State governments should take the burden to reimburse the cost,” he said.
He reminded the Prime Minister that one of the narratives built during the collection of funds through PM Cares was that the funds shall be used to vaccinate everyone free of cost.