Starting 21 June, state governments will no longer be responsible for the 25 per cent vaccine procurement. Instead, the Centre will now be responsible for 75 per cent of the vaccine procurement and will distribute these vaccines free of cost to the states.

Private hospitals will be allowed to procure the remaining 25 per cent share of the vaccines, but going forward, the service charge will be capped at Rs 150 per dose apart from the cost of the jab.

Mincing no words, Modi spoke at length about how the critics questioned the Centre’s decision to centralise the vaccine process in the initial weeks, how states were not given enough freedom to procure vaccines from local and global manufacturers, how state administrations were not given enough freedom to take calls on lockdowns and so forth.

Modi also recalled the questions raised against the defined priority age groups in the initial days of the rollout, and how some critics wanted states to have greater freedom in creating their own age groups. He highlighted the factors that forced the Centre to consider the decentralisation of the vaccine process.

Perhaps it was the spirit of federalism that made Modi be less harsh in his speech when it came to describing the response of the states.

Modi will now lead the biggest vaccine rollout programme in the history of mankind, and he will do it in less than a year.

#NarendraModi #CovidVaccine #Vaccination

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