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Indian states' struggle to vaccinate citizens
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- Noble goal, troublesome reality: As India tries to accelerate its massive vaccination programme in the middle of a devastating second Covid-19 wave, ground reports from states indicate a complex set of problems ranging from shortage of doses to glitches on the registration portal to panic and fear of the vaccines running out. India is now entering a true test of its federal polity.
- Change of stance: If the initial weeks of vaccination saw a general reluctance among the public, the severity of the pandemic’s second wave has forced them to flock to vaccination centres, flouting the very rules meant to keep them safe. And to top it off, the Centre will open vaccination to everyone above the age of 18 from May 1, even as lakhs of people in the 45-60 and above 60 high-priority age groups still await the jab.
- Real hurdle: In Assam, which has administered roughly 21 lakh doses till date, top ministers have expressed doubts about starting vaccination for those in the 18-45 age group in the first week of May, purportedly due to depleting stocks.
- Assam'a health minister said that 'Vaccine order has been given to Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute. When they provide us the vaccines, only then can we begin the vaccination. Today, the Centre has given a guideline, based on which…it will be ascertained what amount of vaccine each state will get'
- As of April 26, the state had 2.57 lakh doses, which as per the average rate of vaccination in Assam would last just three days.
- States say that the two existing vaccines, Covishield (of Serum Institute) and Covaxin (of Bharat Biotech), arriving in alternating batches has also been an issue leading to shortage. “For example, during Bihu in mid-April, we received a large batch of Covishield vaccine. So those who came for their second shot of Covaxin had to be turned back. Later, shots of both vaccines were available. The demand has risen a lot and will continue to do so as vaccines open up for the 18-45 age group.
- In Manipur too, officials are aware of the dangers of crowding at immunisation centres. Even a moderate surge in infections can wreak havoc on the healthcare systems there.
- In Telangana, the situation is no different. The state faces an acute shortage of doses due to limited supply as well as rising demand for the vaccine among the public in the second wave. Despite the state claiming to have the capacity to immunise 10 lakh people a day, it is giving the jab only to about 2 lakh people a day as a result of limited supply from the Centre and the manufacturers. So far, Telangana has administered around 42 lakh doses, covering just about 10 per cent of the state’s population. It has announced free vaccines to the public irrespective of age or nativity, setting aside Rs 2,500 crore for the same.
- In Karnataka, several district health officers indicated that the vaccination for the 18-45 age group could be delayed by a week, though officially the government says it has adequate stocks. No statistics on existing stocks were available.
- In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister E Palaniswami has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the Centre to supply the required quantity of vaccines for all three age groups. A budgetary provision of Rs 35,000 crore has been made to fund the vaccine supply.
- Massive ramping-up: As those in the 18-45 age group open up for inoculation across India on May 1, there is little clarity among health officials at the grassroot level on how to go about it. There’s still a significant section among the high-priority groups with comorbidities who haven’t received their first or second doses.
- Sadly, there was no provision as of now within the (Co-WIN) software to give priority to those who have to take the second dose, so those who manage to schedule appointments on the portal will have access to the jab first.
- Kerala, which has inoculated 16% of the population with 69 lakh doses so far, may open up vaccination in the 18-45 age group for those with serious comorbidities first. But it’s not clear how it will do so, considering all registrations are done via the portal. The state suspended mass vaccination camps with on-the-spot registrations last week after districts like Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram reported swelling crowds, breaking all Covid-19 protocols. Officials feared such camps would turn out to be super-spread events especially when the state’s test positivity rate has remained above 20% for the last two weeks.
- Ground feedback: In Kerala, officials are creating short-term sessions on the portal depending on available stocks. As a result, people are finding it difficult to schedule appointments in nearby centres. Some have resorted to travelling outside their districts to get their family members vaccinated. The state was getting doses that last only one or two days. So, they were creating sessions online only on the basis of doses in stock. There are ‘problems from head-to-toe’ in the vaccine distribution in the country.
- From now on, if SII makes 100 doses, half of them would go to the Centre which will be distributed across the 30 states and UTs. The remaining half go to the private sector and state governments. Many states have already booked lakhs of such doses.
- Things will be tougher going forward, is an obvious conclusion.
- Summary: India will now be tested severely on the federal relations front, and unless all stakeholders work in tandem, and the technology holds, and the vaccine makers are actually able to supply the jabs!
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