Free vaccination for Covid-19 may cost 80k crore: Pratap Chandra Sarangi
BHUBANESWAR: Provision of free Covid-19 vaccine for every citizen of the country would cost the Centre Rs 80,000 crore, Union minister of state for animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries and MSME, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, said on Tuesday.
In a statement, Sarangi said, “Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India, on September 26, spoke about the likely expenditure of Rs 80,000 crore for vaccinating all in the country. On September 29, Union health secretary, Rajesh Bhushan, spoke about the constitution of a national expert group on vaccination to provide the vaccine free of cost and for making a financial estimate of doing so. The group had already met five times by then. It has already discussed the procedural and the financial aspects (of providing the vaccine free of cost to all).”
“After the vaccine is launched, the 30 crore Covid warriors of the country will receive it first, followed by people above 50 years of age. To maintain the cold chain and make the vaccine available in health centres, an electronic vaccine intelligence network will be used,” he said. “There is no financial constraint for the proposed vaccination. The national expert group on vaccination has already discussed procedural and financial aspects of providing the vaccine free to all,” he added.
Sarangi had on Monday announced that the Centre had decided to provide free Covid vaccine to all. He said so in Balasore, where he is currently camped for campaigning for the bypoll to the Balasore assembly seat on November 3.
Sarangi represents the Balasore Lok Sabha seat in Parliament. Responding to a statement by the state food supplies and consumer welfare minister, Ranendra Pratap Swain, that Odisha had already signed an MoU with the Serum Institute of India to get the vaccine quickly, the Union minister said, “It is neither the Odisha chief minister nor the food supplies and consumer welfare minister who will provide the vaccine. It is the Modi government that will provide it free of cost.”
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