Odisha CM bats for centralised procurement of Covid vaccines

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday requested all Chief Ministers to urge the Government of India for centralised procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and distributing those among states.

In a letter, he sought a consensus on centralised procurement of COVID vaccines by the Centre in view of the challenges faced by states.

The Chief Minister said that no state is safe unless all states adopt vaccination as a top priority and execute it on war-footing.

However, states should not compete against each other to procure the vaccines. United efforts are required for vaccine procurement and states should have the flexibility to implement the vaccination drive based on local circumstances, he added.

“It is quite clear that the global vaccine manufacturers are looking forward to the Union Government for the clearances and assurances. They are unwilling to get into supply contracts with the state governments. While the domestic vaccine manufacturers are having supply constraints and are not able to commit required supplies,” Naveen said.

 “Under the circumstances, the best option available for the GoI is to centrally procure the vaccines and distribute the same among the states so that our citizens are vaccinated at the earliest,” he said.