Hours after the Serum Institute of India (SII) issued fresh prices of its Covishield vaccine, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned its disparity in pricing for the State and personal hospitals.
While responding to a query during a press convention over SII’s fresh vaccine rate, Banerjee said, “I will write a letter to the Centre for its intervention over disparity in pricing for State and personal hospitals. Why will there be differences in pricing? Is it time for doing business? It’s now no longer. It’s time to save humans’s lives as they are suffering because of Covid-19.”
Mamata’s reaction got here after SII has issued fresh prices of its Covishield vaccine. While the State governments can acquire the vaccines at a rate of Rs 400 according to dose, the private hospitals gets the vaccines on the rate of Rs 600 according to dose.
“So far, we have administered ninety three lakhs Covid-19 vaccines in West Bengal and created Rs 100 crore fund for ordinary vaccination in the State. We have requested for 1 crore extra Covid-19 vaccines from the Centre,” she said.
On dealing with Covid-19 crisis in the State, she said, “We are growing beds at secure houses and in Covid hospitals. We are running to ease the oxygen crisis and talks are on with the service providers. The Election Commission (EC) have to have clubbed the last few phases of elections because of growing Covid instances. We will request the EC to permit Covid patients to forged votes through postal ballot.”
When requested about any possibility of lockdown, she said, “No concept for any lockdown in West Bengal. Lockdown will now no longer appear in the State. Last year, humans already suffered lots because of lockdown. Therefore, we’ve determined to work effectively to include the virus to keep away from lockdown.”
On April 20, Mamata Banerjee termed Centre’s ‘universal vaccine policy’ selection from May 1, 2021 onwards as ‘hollow’ promise, ‘without substance’ and a ‘regrettable show of evasion of responsibility’ on the time of crisis.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mamata accused the Centre for shying away from its responsibility for making to be had vaccines to the humans of the country.
Her letter reads, “I am knowledgeable that the Central government has introduced the a lot delayed ‘ordinary’ vaccine coverage on April 19, 2021, which seems to be hollow, with out substance and a regrettable display of evasion of duty through the Central authorities on the time of disaster. Now while the range of instances in the second wave of Covid is spiralling like anything, the Centre has selected to tactically take pleasure in empty rhetoric and shy away from its duty for making to be had vaccines to the humans of the country.”
Mamata claimed that the Centre’s announcement (universal vaccine policy) lacks protection and quality assurance norms even as handling the Covid-19 disaster.