All above 18 to get free vaccines from tomorrow as policy switch takes effect

All adults will be provided free anti-Covid jabs from Monday as the central government revises its ‘liberalized and accelerated' vaccination policy.

As per announcements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 June, the Centre will now buy 75% of vaccines and give them free of cost to states.

“No state government would be spending anything for vaccines. Till now, crores of people got free vaccine; now the 18+years segment will be added to this," PM Modi had said.

Previous policy

The statement was a reversal of the Union health ministry's guidelines to the states that came into effect before the third phase of the inoculation drive began.

The ministry had adopted a new protocol, wherein states were given the responsibility to procure and administer the vaccine to people in the age group of 18 to 45. The vaccines were to be procured by state governments at pre-determined prices from the manufacturers.

The central government would, however, continue to buy half of all the vaccines made from healthcare and frontline workers, and those above the age of 45.

Disagreement and controversy

This policy had come under a cloud after states complained they were unable to get any doses from manufacturers, who preferred to sell directly to the Centre. This also resulted in private hospitals getting a bigger stock than states

Controversy had further ballooned after the Supreme Court slammed the pricing policy as “arbitrary and irrational".

The top court said that the policy introduced on 1 May “conflicts with the constitutional balance of responsibilities between the Centre and states" by putting the entire burden of inoculating those in the 18-44 age group on the latter.

The bench, headed by justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, asked the Union government to explain how the ₹35,000 crore earmarked for procuring vaccines in the Union Budget for 2021-22 has been spent.

The court also decided to examine whether the vaccination policy was in breach of the constitutional right to equality under Article 14.

Modi government's shift

In view of this, PM Modi ended the system and said: “It has been decided that the 25% vaccination that was with states will now be undertaken by the government of India. This will be rolled out in two weeks."

Modi said “many states" had asked for a return to the system that was in place before 1 May.

“The system of 25% vaccines being procured directly by private hospitals will continue. State governments will monitor that only ₹150 service charge is levied by private hospitals over the decided price of the vaccines," he said.

Explaining the shift, he said, “Starting from 16 January to April end, India’s vaccination programme was run mostly under the Centre. Free vaccination for all was moving forward and people were showing discipline in getting vaccinated when their turn came,"

"In the midst of all this, demands for decentralization of vaccination were raised, decision about priority to certain age groups were raised. Many types of pressures were exerted and certain sections of media took it as campaign," he added.