CM Naveen Patnaik said he was of the view that states and the Centre needed to align their forces and work together as a team to face the crisis and brought the issue of ‘intermittent supply’ of Covid-19 vaccine to PM Modi’s notice, reported news agency ANI.
Naveen Patnaik on Saturday asked the Centre to allow Covid vaccine in the open market outside government supply chain so that those willing and can afford can take the shots.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naveen wrote, “This will help the government to have a focussed approach towards vulnerable sections of the society.”
Vaccines already approved globally by credible agencies and governments may be accorded approval to increase supply, he suggested.
Stating that India had a huge vaccine manufacturing potential, Mr. Patnaik said, “the Centre and State should support units to ramp up vaccine production. As this is an extraordinary situation, our government should run the extra mile in this regard.”
Moreover, the Chief Minister said the few metropolitan cities, which report the highest COVID-19 cases, should be allowed priority vaccination and flexibility in the age criteria as these were the economic nerve centres of the country, and any lockdown in these areas would have impact on the rest of the country in terms of labour movement.
