The Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution urging the Union government to provide COVID-19 vaccine free of cost to the State and for timely dispensing of vaccines to the citizens.
Minister for Health, Women and Child Welfare Veena George moved the resolution in the House on June 2 as the State faces acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccine. The resolution was moved one day after the Chief Minister Pinaryi Vijayan reiterated in the House that his government will make available COVID-19 vaccine free of cost to the citizens and that one crore COVID-19 vaccine doses had been ordered by the government.
The resolution moved by the Health Minister was also critical of the Union government’s vaccine policy which pushed the States to compete in the open market for vaccine purchase from the manufacturers.
Free vaccines to combat dangerous infectious diseases was adopted as a national policy earlier. The Centre is now asking States to procure vaccines from the market and this is highly condemnable, the resolution said.
The first wave of COVID-19 had weakened the economy and now the country is battling to overcome the second wave of the pandemic. Speeding up the vaccination would help the economy and save the lives of the people, Mrs. George told the House.
The Centre has also been asked to allow other vaccines which got the approval of World Health Organisation (WHO) for emergency use and those approved by European Medicines Agency, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency and Food and Drug Administration.
The resolution was approved by the House after incorporating the amendments moved by the Opposition. This is the second time in the on-going first session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had joined hands to pass a government resolution.
The first was on May 31 in which the Assembly unanimously passed a resolution moved by the Chief Minister demanding the recall of Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel and withdrawal of the controversial orders issued by him.
