Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that his government will provide free vaccines against COVID-19 to everyone above 18 years of age. In phase IV of the vaccination drive starting from May 1, everyone above 18 years of age will receive vaccines.
“The Delhi government has decided to provide free vaccines to everyone above 18 years of age. Today we have given the approval for the purchase of 1.34 crore vaccines. We will make an effort to ensure that it is purchased soon and administered at the earliest to people,” said Kejriwal.
Kejriwal raised the issue of varied pricing of vaccines by manufacturers. While one dose of Covishied will cost Rs 400 to the state government, Covaxin has been priced at Rs 600 per dose. He has requested both the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech to reduce the price to Rs 150 per shot.
“One vaccine producer said that they’ll provide vaccines to the state governments at Rs 400 per dose and the second producer said that they’ll provide at Rs 600 per dose. Both of them will keep the price at Rs 150 per dose for the Central government. I hope that the prices remain the same for all,” said Kejriwal
He also highlighted the rising number of children’s death and asked for their vaccination too. “We’ve seen children below 18 getting infected too. Some died. It’s time to think for them too. If these vaccines are safe and effective for them, they should be given these. If not, then I hope new vaccines will be developed soon that will be effective and safe for children,” Kejriwal added.
Delhi recorded 350 COVID-19 deaths and 22,933 cases with a positivity rate of 30.21 percent on Sunday, even as hospitals across the city continued to send out SOS calls for oxygen supply. This is the fourth day on the trot that Delhi has recorded over 300 deaths due to coronavirus.
With the fresh cases reported Sunday, the national capital’s cumulative COVID-19 tally has climbed to 10,27,715 and the death toll due to the disease stands at 14,248, the health bulletin said.