AMN
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin has urged Union health Minister Dr. Harsh Varadhan to allot vaccine per thousand population and ensure that necessary compensatory allocations are made to States who have been allotted lower number of doses per capita.
In a letter to the minister today, Stalin reiterated the health ministry to revise the inter-se allocation between the government and private institutions to 90:10 as against the current allocation of 75:25.
Under the new liberalized vaccination policy, he said that 25% allocation to private hospitals is grossly higher when compared to the actual vaccinations done by them. He told that the private hospitals in Tamil Nadu have around 7-8 lakh doses available with them, which is equivalent to one month performance whereas government institutions are left with just 2 lakh doses which is lesser than their current single day usage which can be rectified only by a more rational and performance based distribution of available doses.
He told that the allotment of 25% of vaccines produced to private hospitals may incentivise manufacturers, by allowing them to sell a portion at comparatively better price. While this is acceptable, the need for a better blended pricing for vaccine manufacturers should not be allowed to undermine our immediate goal of vaccinating our people at the maximum possible speed.