BOOM

Trending Searches

    SUPPORT
    BOOM

    Trending News

      • Fact Check 
        • Fast Check
        • Politics
        • Business
        • Entertainment
        • Social
        • Sports
        • World
      • Law
      • Explainers
      • News 
        • All News
      • Decode 
        • Impact
        • Scamcheck
        • Life
        • Voices
      • Media Buddhi 
        • Digital Buddhi
        • Senior Citizens
        • Videos
      • Web Stories
      • BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos 
        • Facts Neeti
      • Home-icon
        Home
      • About Us-icon
        About Us
      • Authors-icon
        Authors
      • Team-icon
        Team
      • Careers-icon
        Careers
      • Internship-icon
        Internship
      • Contact Us-icon
        Contact Us
      • Methodology-icon
        Methodology
      • Correction Policy-icon
        Correction Policy
      • Non-Partnership Policy-icon
        Non-Partnership Policy
      • Cookie Policy-icon
        Cookie Policy
      • Grievance Redressal-icon
        Grievance Redressal
      • Republishing Guidelines-icon
        Republishing Guidelines
      • Fact Check-icon
        Fact Check
        Fast Check
        Politics
        Business
        Entertainment
        Social
        Sports
        World
      • Law-icon
        Law
      • Explainers-icon
        Explainers
      • News-icon
        News
        All News
      • Decode-icon
        Decode
        Impact
        Scamcheck
        Life
        Voices
      • Media Buddhi-icon
        Media Buddhi
        Digital Buddhi
        Senior Citizens
        Videos
      • Web Stories-icon
        Web Stories
      • BOOM Research-icon
        BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs-icon
        BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker-icon
        Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos-icon
        Videos
        Facts Neeti
      Trending Tags
      TRENDING
      • #Operation Sindoor
      • #Pahalgam Terror Attack
      • #Narendra Modi
      • #Rahul Gandhi
      • #Waqf Amendment Bill
      • #Arvind Kejriwal
      • #Deepfake
      • #Artificial Intelligence
      • Home
      • Health
      • BJP Promises Free COVID-19 Vaccine...
      Health

      BJP Promises Free COVID-19 Vaccine In Poll-Bound Bihar: What We Know

      The Union Health Ministry has drafted a prioritisation chart for the programmed distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine

      By - Shachi Sutaria |
      Published -  23 Oct 2020 9:00 AM IST
    • Boomlive
      BJP Promises Free COVID-19 Vaccine In Poll-Bound Bihar: What We Know

      Releasing the Bharatiya Janta Party's election manifesto for the upcoming Bihar state elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 22 promised that every citizen of Bihar would receive the COVID-19 vaccine for free once the BJP is elected in the northern state.

      As soon as #COVID19 vaccine will be available for production at a mass scale, every person in Bihar will get free vaccination. This is the first promise mentioned in our poll manifesto: Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the launch of BJP Manifesto for #BiharPolls pic.twitter.com/x4VjVmkA3Q

      — ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2020

      Bihar has the twelfth highest cases in the country. After seeing a surge in early August, the state has been reporting between 700-1700 cases daily.

      At a time when India has recorded over 7.7 million cases of COVID-19 and has three vaccine candidates at different stages of clinical trials and several others awaiting approval, Sitharaman's statement came under fire from activists, opposition and social media users who accused her of politicising an essential need. Moreover, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has repeatedly stated that the vaccine will be distributed on the basis of priority. The Ministry is still chalking a COVID-19 vaccine prioritisation strategy.

      Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to jest about India's COVID-19 vaccine distribution strategy on the backdrop of this announcement.

      GOI just announced India's Covid access strategy.

      Kindly refer to the state-wise election schedule to know when will you get it, along with a hoard of false promises.

      — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 22, 2020

      Activist Saket Gokhale even filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India stating that the BJP was creating an aura of falsehood and misleading the people.

      Filed an urgent complaint with ECI regarding BJP's announcement of free Covid-19 vaccine for Bihar by Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman.

      This is not only discriminatory but also a false promise & blatant misuse of Central Govt. powers during elections.

      cc: @SpokespersonECI pic.twitter.com/yti8vR9i2E

      — Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) October 22, 2020

      BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya jumped to the defense of the Finance Minister by stating that the vaccination just like public health is a State subject and the prices of the vaccine would be decided by every state.

      BJP's manifesto promises free Covid vaccine. Like all programs, center will provide vaccines to states at a nominal rate. It is for the state Govts to decide if they want to give it free or otherwise. Health being a state subject, Bihar BJP has decided to give it free. Simple.

      — Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 22, 2020

      Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Palaniswami stated that citizens of Tamil Nadu will receive the vaccine for free. In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan has promised free vaccines for the poor in his state.

      Will Every Citizen of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh And Tamil Nadu Receive The COVID-19 Vaccine?

      The vaccines are still at the preliminary stages of trials and their safety and efficacy data still needs to be study and ascertained.

      Even if a vaccine is approved by the end of 2020, the central government has to first work on improving its infrastructure to adapt to the needs of the vaccine. India currently has 29,000 cold storage machines as a part of its Universal Immunisation Programme which includes 12 vaccines for children, said Rajesh Bhushan, Health Secretary at a press conference on October 20. These will be utilised for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine once approved while the government is also working to build its capacity.

      Moreover, the vaccine will be distributed on the basis of priority. Bhushan also added that the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 headed by NITI Aayog member Dr. V.K.Paul is formulating a strategy for prioritisation as well as vaccine distribution. Responding to a question of about 30 crore priority members identified by the ministry, Bhushan said "We have come up with a draft prioritisation plan and are also matching it with the number of doses that would become available tentatively from January to July. We think that if the present trials proceed according to plan and succeed, then the number of doses that would be available in the aforementioned period would be sufficient to immunise the priority list persons that we are working on."

      On October 11 in his Sunday Samvaad, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan stated that the Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India vaccines need to be administered in two doses while the Zydus Vaccine needs to be administered in three doses. Earlier on October 4, he also stated that the government plans to vaccinate over 20-25 crore people through 40-50 crore doses on priority by July 2021. This means that not every citizen will receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time.

      Each state has been provided a format to create its priority list which focuses on frontline health workers. These include government and private sector doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitary staff, ASHA workers, surveillance and field officers responsible for tracing, testing, and treating. People belonging to the old age bracket who are more vulnerable as well as people with co-morbidities will be given preference in the priority lists.

      The Health Minister has time and again asserted that the vaccine distribution will occur on the basis of prioritisation and in a phased programmed manner to avoid any scope of black marketing in the process. Such a prioritisation does not define any state or region of the country.

      Will The Vaccine Be Distributed For Free?

      As Malviya stated, the pricing of the vaccine will be the prerogative of the respective states. However, under its Universal Immunisation Programme, India has a roster of vaccines that are administered for free to children.

      BOOM spoke to Dr. Gagandeep Kang, former member of the dismantled ICMR R&D task force and virologist at Christian Medical College, CMC Vellore to understand the prioritisation mechanism and promising the vaccine for free for citizens.

      "Everyone in the country should get safe and effective vaccines that are recommended by and provided by the government, for free. A prioritisation framework is essential to ensure that those most at risk of occupational exposure (such as frontline Healthcare staff) and severe disease (such as the elderly and those with co-morbidities) get the vaccine first, then immunisation of others can follow," said Dr. Kang.

      India has, however, not discussed its strategy for pricing and providing immunisation for free, yet. The Health Ministry has hinted at using the UIP and Mission Indradhanush scheme as a possible route for vaccine distribution but has not shared its strategy so far.

      India as a low-middle income country will reap the benefits of the ACT Accelerator and COVAX- a coalition of the World Health Organisation, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness through its equitable distributions of vaccines. Serum Institute of India which is manufacturing the Oxford, AstraZeneca vaccine has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to produce 200 million doses under this scheme.

      Also Read:AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Candidate Dies, Trials To Continue

      Adar Poonawala, CEO of SII, on September 26 questioned whether the Indian Government was willing to shell out around ₹80,000 crore for the COVID-19 vaccine. In response, on September 30, Rajesh Bhushan disputed the costs calculated by Poonawala. Though he did not state the exact amount calculated by the Ministry, Bhushan said that the National Committee was mulling over the costs. The Oxford vaccine is priced at $2-$3 as decided by the vaccine manufacturers along with the distributors to ensure equitable access of the vaccine at affordable prices.

      On October 30, Bhushan mentioned that the Ministry is looking forward to work with the private sector for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine once it is deemed safe to be used and elicits an immune response. However, whether the public sector alone will purchase the vaccine and distribute it or even allow the private healthcare players to acquire the vaccine is still unclear.

      According to information accessed by sources, Bloomberg reported that India has sanctioned around ₹ 51,000 crore for vaccines. This amount has been provisioned for the period ending on March 31. Sources quoted by Bloomberg also stated that India would shell out more funds if required.

      Also Read:India's COVID-19 Battle Much Better Than US, Europe: Dr K Srinath Reddy


      Tags

      Nirmala SitharamanBihar electionsMinistry of HealthMOHFWserum institute of indiaSIICOVID-19
      Read Full Article
      Next Story
      Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
      Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker. Please reload after ad blocker is disabled.
      X

      Subscribe to BOOM Newsletters

      👉 No spam, no paywall — but verified insights.

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe for free!

      Stay Ahead of Misinformation!

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe Now🛡️ 100% Privacy Protected | No Spam, Just Facts
      By subscribing, you agree with the Terms & conditions and Privacy Policy connected to the offer

      Thank you for subscribing!

      You’re now part of the BOOM community.

      Or, Subscribe to receive latest news via email
      Subscribed Successfully...
      Copy HTMLHTML is copied!
      There's no data to copy!