A national plan

The fast-deteriorating Covid situation in the country has prompted the Supreme Court to demand a national plan from the Centre on the supply of oxygen and essential drugs, besides the method and manner of vaccination. Such a plan should have been in place at least a month ago, when the sharply rising curve of the daily caseload left no room for doubt that the second wave of the pandemic was upon us. It is without doubt a national emergency, but the government’s response has been woefully inadequate, inviting the ire of the judiciary. ‘Why is the Centre not waking up to the gravity of the situation?’ the Delhi High Court had asked on Wednesday, the day 22 Covid patients died at a Nashik hospital due to disruption of oxygen supply.

The government’s commitment to providing an affordable vaccine to all is also coming a cropper. As India prepares to vaccinate citizens in the 18-44 age group, accounting for around 40 per cent of the population, an unsavoury controversy has erupted over the differential pricing for the life-saving vaccines. The Serum Institute of India (SII), the maker of Covishield, has stated that the vaccine would cost private hospitals Rs 600 per dose and state governments Rs 400; the lower rate would also apply to Central government procurement once the existing contract for Rs 150 a dose ends. The SII has cited the Centre’s liberalised policy that gives vaccine manufacturers flexibility in fixing prices. This means that a substantial number of people will now have second thoughts about paying a hefty price for the shot. The new rates are likely to increase vaccine hesitancy, which has been a stumbling block for the inoculation programme so far. The Centre needs to intervene quickly to cap the prices within reasonable limits so that profiteering can be curbed and the common person is able to afford the jab.

Be it oxygen, medicines or vaccine, the Centre can’t afford to let disruptions or irregularities derail India’s battle against the virus. There has to be an action plan that can deal with any eventuality, assuming that the worst is yet to come.