Centre to buy vaccines and give them to states for free from June 21: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Monday In his address he said efforts were made at warfooting to fight the pandemicldquoDuring the second wave the demand for medical oxygen in the country increased unimaginably in the months of April and May Never in the history of India has the need for medical oxygen been felt in such quantityrdquo Prime Minister Modi said in his address ldquoTo meet this demand work was done on a war footingrdquo he addedFurther the Centre government is considering centralising the vaccination drive from June 21 wherein the Centre will purchase vaccines and give them to states for free Also all above the age of 18 will be inoculated frrr of cost from June 21He asserted that vaccine supply would be increased significantly in the country in coming daysThe Centre has decided to buy 75 per cent of jabs from vaccine makers including 25 per cent of the state quota and give it for free to state governments the prime minister said in an address to the nationModi said private sector hospitals can continue to procure 25 per cent of vaccines but their service charge would be capped at Rs 150 per dose over fixed price of the vaccinePrime Minister Shri narendramodi will address the nation at 5 PM today 7th Junemdash PMO India PMOIndia June 7 2021This comes after several states complained of vaccine shortage and demanded the Centre allot more vaccines soonThe governmentrsquos vaccination strategy has been widely criticized and has also been flagged by the Supreme CourtMy address to the nation Watch httpstcof9X2aeMiBHmdash Narendra Modi narendramodi June 7 2021Also ReadUddhav Thackeray to meet PM Modi in Delhi tomorrowHe also said antiCovid protocol is the singlemost important weapon in the fight against coronavirus before adding that seven companies are producing various vaccines against the coronavirus in the country and trial of three more vaccines is at an advanced stageThe process of procuring vaccines from companies of other countries has also been expedited the prime minister saidAmid concerns expressed by experts recently over children being affected by the virus Modi said that in this direction trials of two vaccines are being carried outPM Modi last addressed the nation on April 20 when he said that the second wave of the Covid19 pandemic has hit India hard and urged states to use lockdown as the last resortIn a situation like today we have to save the country from a lockdown If you all work together create awareness then there is no need for containment never mind a lockdown I appeal to states that they should use the lockdown as the last resort our focus should be microcontainment zones We will take care of economic health as well as the health of countrymen the Prime Minister had saidIndia today recorded 106 lakh cases taking the countryrsquos caseload to 289 crore