'The only way to protect our people against future waves and provide them with a hope of survival is vaccination,' Patnaik wrote in the letter that he shared on Twitter, tagging all the chief ministers
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik. File Pic
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday wrote to all the chief ministers in the country, urging them to build a consensus over procurement of the Covid-19 vaccines by the Centre for distribution among the states.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the letter, Patnaik wrote that no state is safe unless all the states adopt vaccination as the topmost priority and execute it on war-footing.
"The only way to protect our people against future waves and provide them with a hope of survival is vaccination," Patnaik wrote in the letter that he shared on Twitter, tagging all the chief ministers.
Wrote to all CMs for a consensus on centralised procurement of vaccines by GOI in view of the challenges faced by states. Spoke to some CMs who shared my views. No State is safe unless all States adopt vaccination as a top priority & execute it on war-footing. pic.twitter.com/lMkpjDeYRg
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) June 2, 2021
"But this cannot be a battle among the states to compete against each other to procure vaccines," he added.
Also Read: Norms for clearing foreign-made Covid-19 vaccines eased by DCGI
Patnaik noted that after the Centre announced phase 3 of the vaccine policy, allowing vaccination for everyone above the age of 18 and opened procurement for the states and private sector, the demand increased.
"Many states have floated global tenders for vaccine procurement. However, it is quite clear that the global vaccine manufacturers are looking forward to the Union Government for the clearances and assurances," he said.
"They are unwilling to get into supply contracts with the State government. While the domestic vaccine manufacturers are having supply constraints and are not able to commit required supplies," the chief minister said.
Patnaik said that under these circumstances, the best option available is for the Centre to centrally procure vaccines and distribute them among the states so that people are vaccinated at the earliest.
"At the same time, the execution of the vaccination programme has to be decentralised and states allowed the flexibility to determine their own mechanism to ensure universal vaccination," he said.
For example, many hilly areas have no internet access and therefore online registration has to be flexible, he said.
Patnaik said that he has already raised the matter with the Centre and also spoken to a few chief ministers.
"However, I would respectfully suggest that all the state Governments should come to a consensus on this issue for early resolution of this problem. We should act fast before any third wave comes and creates further havoc," he said.
Maintaining that the Covid-19 pandemic is the greatest challenge that the country is facing since the Independence struggle, Patnaik urged the chief ministers to come together in the spirit of cooperative federalism, setting aside the political differences.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
