Cong joins AAP in decrying govt's COVID vaccine diplomacy, seeks expansion of immunization

Hitting out at the Centre's vaccine diplomacy, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday shared the Health Ministry's response in the Lok Sabha to the question over the export of COVID-19 vaccines. The former Union Minister highlighted that 5.86 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been exported to 71 countries till March 15, as per the Health Ministry. Citing the data presented by Health MoS Ashwini Choubey in the Lok Sabha, the Congress leader attributed the claimed shortage of vaccines in India to the export to 71 countries. 

Tewari's dig at the Union Government comes at a time when state administrations have been claiming a shortage of vaccines and demanding to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to all. However, the Centre has maintained that there is no shortage of vaccine doses across the country. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Raghav Chadha had hit out at the Centre over its 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative which have been hailed globally. Chadha claimed that if the vaccination process continues at the current pace, it will take around 15 years to immunize the entire country. While he reiterated CM Arvind Kejriwal's claim that the AAP government would vaccinate the entire Delhi if the restrictions were removed, the AAP leader also remarked that vaccine diplomacy at the cost of Indians is not justified. 

"The vaccination rate is so slow that if we progress at the current rate it will take India atleast 15 years to vaccinate every single citizens. The vaccine diplomacy at the cost of Indian citizens is not justified," Chadha said. 

Health Minister quashes vaccine shortage claimes 

Coming down heavily on state administrations amidst the alarming surge in COVID-19 cases across the country, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan called out political leaders and state governments attempting to shift the blame onto the Centre. In a strong-worded statement, the Health Minister asserted that many state governments have failed to take appropriate measures to curb the virus spread. The Health Minister also responded to the growing demand of making COVID-19 vaccines available to all, apart from the ongoing phase-wise immunization drive. 

Elaborating on the Centre's persistence of phase-wise immunization, the Health Minister reasoned that there is no option but to 'prioritize' vaccination until the supply of vaccines remains limited. 

"So long as the supply of vaccines remains limited, there is no option but to prioritize. This is also the established practice around the world, and is well known to all State governments. When states ask to open up vaccine supplies to everyone over 18, we must presume that they have done saturation coverage of healthcare workers, frontline workers and senior citizens. But the facts are altogether different," Harsh Vardhan said in a statement on Wednesday. 

Quashing the demand of state governments to open up vaccination for all, including Maharashtra, the Health Minister presented a streamline of facts and figures to prove that the administrations have been unable to vaccinate the priority groups themselves. According to figures highlighted by the Health Minister, Maharashtra has vaccinated just only 86% of health workers with the first dose and 41% of healthcare workers with the second dose.