In an embarrassing video that has gone viral on social media, Raipur mayor Aijaz Dhebar’s nephew can be seen roaming without a mask in public, flouting this basic covid norm.
Additionally, on being caught by the police, Shoaib Dhebar reportedly dialled his uncle to come to his rescue and misbehaved with the cops.
Shoaib Dhebar threatened the police on being stopped for stepping out without a mask in public amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic which has left Chhattisgarh as one of the worst affected states in the country.
Shoaib who was accompanied by a pillion rider can be heard saying that he was on his way to purchase a mask when questioned by a cop. He can be seen yelling at a cop for allegedly ‘mistreating’ him.
Chalan of Rs 5?
A social media user shared that Shoaib was let go after being fined for a mere Rs.5. The user has also tweeted an image of the Chalan.
What action ?
पांच रुपये का चालान काटा है छत्तीसगढ़ पुलिस ने.
भतीजों की मौज है आजकल.
एक भतीजा नियम तोड़ कर वैक्सीन लगवा रहा है, एक बिना मास्क घूम रहा है और पुलिस पर धौंस दिखा रहा है. pic.twitter.com/clUqQAU5hC
However, some media reports have stated that the Rs 5 Chalan was made by mistake and later another image had surfaced on social media where it was shown that Shoaib was fined Rs 500. The police commissioner has reportedly stated that he is not aware of the incident.
Calling it an unfortunate incident, Aijaz Dhebar tweeted saying, “law is the same for everyone, whether it is a relative of mine or the Prime Minister.”
He further added that at a time of crisis one must respect the frontline warriors and that his nephew has been warned for his misbehaviour.
कानून सबके लिए समान है, चाहे वो मेरा कोई सबंधी हो या प्रधानमंत्री का।
शोएब ढेबर द्वारा की गई गलती के लिए उसका चालान काटा गया है और उसे चेतावनी भी दी गई है कि आगे से ऐसी गलती नही होनी चाहिए।
इस संकट के हालात में हमारे कोरोना वारियर्स का सहयोग और सम्मान आवश्यक है… (1/2) pic.twitter.com/pj1jk8wwTY
Not sure which law is being talked about here as the fine for not wearing a mask in a public place in Chhattisgarh was increased five times to Rs 500 in March. The decision was taken after the state of Chhattisgarh was hit hard by the second wave of the pandemic. The state has been recording over 100 deaths every day since April 10.
Gilbert Sebastian is an assistant professor at the Central University of Kerala. He is also the Secretary of the Central University of Kerala Teachers Association, (CUKTA) Kasaragod. A Post Doctoral fellow from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Sebastian teaches in the Department of International Relations and Politics. A purported audio clip of one of his lectures on Fascism and Nazism in which he continuously spewed venom against Hindus, Swastika, Hindutva, RSS, BJP and other Hindu organisations went viral on social media.
OpIndia got access to the audio of half of his lecture and the slideshows that he allegedly used during the lecture. Sebastian claimed that across the world, ‘Right Wing’ governments were coming into power and called it “Right-Wing resurgence in the world”.
Right-Wing comes to power because of middle and business class
In his lecture, Sebastian claimed that to come to power, Right Wing uses lucrative promises. He gave the example of the great depression of the 1930s during which Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany came to power. He claimed these Right Wing political parties promised jobs, better income and infrastructure to come to power. Not only the middle-class but the corporate world also helped them to win the elections.
Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow
Sebastian claimed that the same tactics were used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to win the elections in India. He claimed BJP won the elections on the pretext of jobs and infrastructure, but they have done nothing since they came in power.
Interestingly, Sebastian completely ignored the fact that since the Modi-led BJP government came into power in 2014, India has progressed in several sectors. Distributing electricity connections, gas connections, homes, DBT for different government schemes, soil health cards, multiple AIIMS, improved road infrastructure, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and several other schemes have helped India to improve its position in terms of infrastructure. Blinded with the hate for BJP, Sebastian continued to mislead his students.
BJP does appeasement to attract Dalits and working-class – claimed Sebastian
Sebastian claimed in Kerala and other South Indian states, as people are educated, they do not support BJP. Mainly Dalits and the working class do not trust BJP, he added. However, nowadays, some Dalits and the working-class are supporting the party, but that is because of the political appeasement BJP does. According to him, Dalits can be lured to vote for BJP by appeasement.
A similar statement was made by a TMC leader recently. On April 10, TMC leader Sujata Mondal Khan had labelled Dalits as ‘beggars by nature and claimed that they sold themselves to the BJP. She said, “There is a saying that some are beggars by nature while others are beggars by circumstance. The Scheduled Castes here are beggars by nature.”
The fake information on Hindu Holy Symbol Swastika
During his lecture, when Sebastian talked about the Nazi’s Hakenkreuz, he referred it to as Swastika and tried to make it look like that both the symbols are the same. When he mentioned Hakenkreuz as Swastika at the very beginning of the lecture, he asked the students if they know where else this symbol is used. For a few seconds, no one spoke up. He again asked them if they are aware of who uses the symbol. One of the students said that it is used in temples, but he did not take the name of any religion.
Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow
Irked by the fact that no one was ready to say anything on the blunt misleading comparison, he again forced the students to speak up. One of the students spoke up, but he was not audible. Then he asked the student to write it in the comment section on Zoom. The student said the Swastika symbol represents Kali or Shakti, whom he referred to as the ‘Black Female Goddess’.
There are two aspects of this part of his lectures that are incorrect. First of all, Hakenkreuz is NOT Swastika. It is the hooked cross. There was no reason for a Catholic party to adopt a sign from Hinduism. The second aspect is what Swastika represents.
Contrary to what Sebastian taught in his lecture, Swatika comprises of ‘su’ meaning ”good” and ‘asti’ meaning ”to be”. In other words, well-being. It dates back some 6,000 years to rock and cave paintings. Scholars generally agree it originated in India.
It has also meant a symbol of good luck, prosperity and all things auspicious for other ancient cultures, including the Vikings and Greeks, besides Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. It finds mentions in the Vedas as well. It symbolises many things like Surya (the sun) and Brahma, the creator. It is seen as a power symbol and is also the emblem of Ganesha, the god of good luck. In both Hinduism and Jainism, the Swastika is used to mark the opening pages of account books, doors and thresholds.
‘RSS is the ‘Brows Shirts’ of India’ – said Sebastian
He further said that, unlike other political formations, fascism uses semi-autonomous civil society groups as militant outfits. For example, the Blackshirts in Italy and the Brown Shirts in Germany. He proceeded and put the RSS & VHP in India in the same category. He also claimed that RSS was inspired by Adolf Hitler and subtly compared the brown shirts of Nazis with RSS’s attire.
Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow
‘Hindu parties have militant outfits’
Sebastian said Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) is the mother of all Hindu parties in India. BJP is the political outfit of RSS. He did not stop there and claimed that Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal are militant groups of RSS. He further alleged that the Hindu NRIs sitting abroad send money for VHP and Bajrang Dal to create unrest in the country.
He claimed that BJP is only at the front of RSS. Many autonomous Hindu bodies in India allegedly do the dirty work for RSS. He added that Congress itself is the main organisation. But in RSS, there are a lot of autonomous bodies that work under the main organisation.
Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow
Then came the most bizarre statement. He claimed that as BJP is only the political front, someday, RSS will announce that there will be no elections in the country and will abolish BJP. “They might do that. I am serious. They might do that,” he said. He claimed that as the autonomous bodies under RSS do the dirty work, the organisation is able to present itself with a clean image.
Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow
He also blamed Bajrang Dal for the 2002 riots in Gujarat. Sebastian conveniently ignored the fact that the riots in 2002 were not initiated by any Hindu organisation. They happened in the aftermath of the Godhra train burning incident in which 59 innocent Kar Sewaks were burnt alive by a large Muslim mob.
North Indian Hindus are the root cause of atrocities against women in India
Sebastian claimed that the Hindus living in North India are the root cause of atrocities against women in India. He gave the example of the Nirbhaya case. He said one of the main accused was regular with his daily ‘pooja path’. In the documentary, India’s daughter, that accused claimed that the answer to women like Nirbhaya is rape. “But he used to do pooja path. What kind of hypocrisy was that?” he added.
During his lecture, he kept spewing venom against India, BJP, RSS, Hindus and other Hindu organisations. He spread misinformation about Swastika and Hindus. He tried to paint Hindus as criminals, uneducated, ill-informed and rioters. As OpIndia only got hold of half of his lecture, it is not known what he had said in the remaining lecture.
Days after allegedly harassing the director of Daman-based pharma company Bruck Pharmaceuticals over the supply of Remdesivir vials to Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government on Tuesday announced that it will import vaccines from other countries and divert funds from all the departments to carry out an extensive vaccination drive.
The decision came after the central government made the vaccines accessible to the entire adult population of the country. Welcoming the decision, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said the state cabinet on Tuesday decided to conduct an “exemplary vaccination drive”. He further added that if required the state government will cut down funds of all other departments to ensure the availability of vaccines for people.
Tope was quoted by Indian Express as saying those between 18-45 years of age can get vaccinated for Rs 400 in government hospitals and for Rs 600 at private hospitals. He also added that presently, Covishield and Covaxin are available and if needed, the state will import other vaccines. Sputnik will cost Rs 1750 per dose.
Tope said that the Maha government will try to procure Sputnik, Pfizer and Moderna doses too.
Tope had earlier stated that the plan of the state government was to inoculate 7 lakh people every day but due to the supply constraints, it could only vaccinate about 3 lakh people. The health minister added that the state would like to follow the model adopted by the United Kingdom in vaccinating its people after witnessing a dangerous spike in the COVID-19 cases last year.
“Today, 60 per cent of the UK’s population is vaccinated. Very few new cases are being detected, while the death toll is in single digits. The entire country was kept under lockdown for three months and the vaccination drive was carried out on a massive scale,” he said.
“We have decided to cut the expenses of all the departments and divert the funds for vaccine procurement. We will not limit our plans only to the two vaccines that are manufactured in the country (Covishield and Covaxin),” he said.
Maharashtra among the worst-affected states by the coronavirus pandemic
Maharashtra is among the worst-affected states by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 50,000 new cases being reported daily in the last two weeks. The decision to import vaccines from abroad was taken even as the state government is facing criticism from several quarters for its bungled handling of the coronavirus outbreak that inevitably led to such a dire situation in the state.
Last week, Mumbai Police detained and questioned the director of Daman-based pharma company Bruck Pharmaceuticals over the supply of Remdesivir vials, one of the anti-viral drugs prescribed to some patients with severe symptoms of Chinese coronavirus. While Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the director was arrested because BJP managed to get permissions in place for the supply of the drug to Maharashtra, Mumbai Police claims they only ‘questioned’ him because of rampant black marketing of the drug.
Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders weave conspiracy theories to escape being held responsible for the shortages of crucial medicines
In an attempt to discredit the opposition parties and paint the director of the Pharma company as a crook, elaborate lies and conspiracy theories were floated by the Maha Vikas Aghadi ministers, Congress stooges like and serial petitioner Saket Gokhale, to allege that the supply of Remdesivir procured by Devendra Fadnavis was meant for Gujarat and not Maharashtra.
However, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration Minister and NCP leader Dr Rajendra Shingne’s admission put all conspiracy theories triggered by his own government and the alliance leaders to rest. In an interview to News18 Lokmat on Tuesday, Dr Rajendra Shingne admitted that the Remdesivir procured by the opposition party Bhartiya Janta Party was indeed intended for the Maharashtra government, and he was aware of the same.
“I was aware of it. The BJP leaders had met me at my house along with the manufacturers’ representatives. They offered to help us procure the Remdesivir stocks for the state government and I agreed to it. The entire process was done following all rules, with due permissions and with genuine intentions to help the citizens,” he informed much to MVA’s dismay.
An oxygen tanker leaked while being filled at Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital, Nashik on Wednesday afternoon. Officials are said to have reached the spot where the mishap took place and operations are underway to contain the leak.
#WATCH | An Oxygen tanker leaked while tankers were being filled at Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra. Officials are present at the spot, operation to contain the leak is underway. Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/zsxnJscmBp
As per the latest reports, at least 22 people have died of oxygen deprivation as the tank leak had stopped ventilators. Reports stated that ventilators in the hospital were stopped for at least 30 minutes. District Collector of Nashik has stated that the patients have succumbed to oxygen deprivation.
The state of Maharashtra is facing an acute shortage of oxygen amid the second wave of coronavirus which has crippled the health infrastructure.
The state has over 60,000 people on oxygen support in hospitals and many others on oxygen support at home. The shortage of oxygen has forced several hospitals to stop new admissions as the current supply is said to last for only a few hours.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said, “We’re anticipating that 15% of currently active cases may need oxygen. As of now, we have arrangements of 1550 MT of oxygen in the state. We’re trying to distribute the same. We’re also expecting the Oxygen which Govt of India will import.”
On the other hand, Maharashtra Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas advised, “We need restraint (in oxygen use) to avoid panic. Panic and anxiety increase demand.”
State governments, private players and central ministries come together to battle the crisis
Maharashtra is reportedly receiving 50 MT a day of liquid medical oxygen from Chhattisgarh, and another 50 MT a day from Gujarat.
Reliance Industries Ltd., which operates the world’s biggest refining complex in Gujarat, is supplying 100 MT of oxygen from Jamnagar to Maharashtra at no cost.
Apart from Reliance, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel and SAIL have also come forward to supply oxygen to states for medical use.
Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel, from its Dolvi plant in Maharashtra, is supplying 185 tonne of oxygen daily to the state government.
In an attempt to plug the shortage, the Centre’s Empowered Group-2 has decided to divert over 17,000 MT of LMO to the 12 surge states in three phases between April 20-30.
7 empty oxygen tankers departed from Kalamboli goods yard for Visakhapatnam steel plant on Tuesday setting into motion the Railway Ministry’s ‘Oxygen Express’ initiative. These tankers will be loaded with medical oxygen for Maharashtra and return through the green corridor created for an uninterrupted supply of oxygen to the state.
Today, Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij launched a scathing attack on the Delhi government, accusing the neighbouring state of “looting” an oxygen tanker that was en route to Faridabad. In order to counter this alleged loot, the Haryana government has ordered police protection for all oxygen tankers.
“We are being forced to give our oxygen to Delhi. First, we’ll complete our needs, then give to others. Yesterday, one of our O2 tankers was looted by Delhi Govt that was going to Faridabad. From now, I’ve ordered police protection for all tankers,” said Anil Vij.
We are being forced to give our oxygen to Delhi. First, we’ll complete our needs, then give to others. Yesterday, one of our O2 tankers was looted by Delhi Govt that was going to Faridabad. From now, I’ve ordered police protection for all tankers: Haryana Health Min Anil Vij pic.twitter.com/mJ7GPmGTqm
Yesterday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had expressed concern over Delhi’s limited oxygen supply, saying that, “hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen.”
Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge centre to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Some hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen.
“Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge centre to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Some hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen,” wrote Kejriwal yesterday.
Delhi is currently undergoing a week-long lockdown which was imposed on Monday, imposed by CM Kejriwal in light of an exponential surge in Coronavirus cases. Just a few days ago, Delhi recorded its highest ever surge of the pandemic yet, with 25,462 fresh COVID-19 cases recorded in a day.
On April 21, the Government of India has rubbished the claims that India exported 9,884 MT of medical oxygen from January 2021 to March 2021. Some reports in mainstream media have suggested that India has exported nearly 9,300 MT of oxygen in financial year ending 31st March 2021.
Misleading report by Money Control
On April 20, 2021, Moneycontrol claimed that India exported nearly 9,300 metric tonnes of oxygen in first three months of 2021. Money Control did not specify whether the exported oxygen was medical oxygen, fit for patients, thereby adding to panic.
Misleading report by News 18
Similar report was shared by News18 citing moneycontrol report. Soon, the article was shared by many social media users, thereby creating a panic-like situation in India where medical oxygen is currently facing supply issues.
Misleading tweet by Sanjay Jha
According government, however, these reports are misleading. As per sources the media reports are passing off industrial grade oxygen for medical oxygen and the two are completely different.
Malicious propaganda is being spread that India had exported scarce medical oxygen during the pandemic year of 2020-21. This is absolutely false and industrial oxygen exports are being mistaken as medical oxygen: Government sources
The sources in government further added that there are two categories of exports of liquid oxygen that are medical and others (industrial). During April-February 2020-21, India indeed exported 9884 MT of industrial oxygen, but the amount of medical oxygen exported was only 12 MT.
Majority of these industrial oxygen export was in Dec & Jan when medical oxygen consumption reduced to 1418 MT/day from 2675 MT/day in Sept-this against near 7000 MT/day capacity resulted in no threat to medical oxygen supply while protecting jobs in oxygen industry: Govt sources
The annual export of medical oxygen only comprises of 0.4% of the total annual production capacity in the country. The majority of the industrial oxygen exports took place in December 2020, and January 2021 was the medical oxygen consumption in India had reduced by half to 1418 MT/day from a peak of 2,675 MT/day in September 2020.
The dramatic reduction in the supply at the time when India had a production capacity of 7000 MT/day allowed India to export oxygen as there was no threat to medical oxygen supply. It also helped in protecting jobs in the oxygen industry.
As per the government stats, India exported 15,000 MT tonnes of oxygen in 2016-17 while the export of medical oxygen was 229.82 in the same period.
Annual stats of oxygen support
In the next few years, the demand for oxygen reduced, resulting in a fall in export. In 2019-20 India exported 4,328 MT of oxygen while medical oxygen export during the same period was only 9.62 MT.
Industrial oxygen cannot be used for medical purposes
In a letter reffered to the Railway plant which wanted to use its industrial supply for medical purposes, PK Borah, Deputy General Manager, Premier Cryogenics Ltd. said, that Industrial Liquid Oxygen cannot be used for Medical purposes.
Letter by PK Borah, Premier Cyrogenics Ltd
In his letter, he said that their tankers are supplying industrial liquid oxygen and the same cannot be used for medical purposes.
The government of India has banned oxygen export
Amidst the rise in Covid-19 cases, the Government of India has already banned the use of Oxygen in industries except nine. The government of India has ramped up the oxygen production in India by several folds to meet the demand. Notably, corporate has also come forward to help in oxygen supply.
Tata, Reliance, Jindal and other corporate houses have diverted industrial oxygen to medical oxygen production so that it can help in saving the lives of Covid-19 patients. State governments like Uttar Pradesh and Government agencies like DRDO are also establishing oxygen generation plants in hospitals to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply.
Several questions had been raised by the media and ‘experts’ on the efficacy of Covaxin, India’s own vaccine against Covid-19.
Some experts argued that the newly mutated strains may not be resisted by vaccines, while others pointed out that both the vaccines available for administration in India- Covishield and Covaxin were designed to provide enough coverage to justify the jab.
Clarifying the concerns raised, the ICMR on Wednesday released the results of a study that proves that Covaxin neutralizes multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 including the double mutant strain.
ICMR shared the update through a tweet which also entails an infographic detailing the results of the study.
ICMR-NIV has successfully isolated and cultured multiple variants of SARS-Cov-2 virus including the UK, Brazil and South African strain
ICMR-NIV demonstrated the neutralization potential of the UK and Brazil variant
ICMR-NIV has been recently successful in isolating and culturing the double mutant variant
Infographic released by ICMR
The highly infectious double mutant Covid-19 strain is said to be fueling the second wave of coronavirus in India.
Attempts to discredit Covaxin:
The opposition and the liberal gang have missed no opportunity to discredit the efficacy of the homegrown vaccine Covaxin since the days of trial.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had to issue a clarification following criticism by the same group over its plan to release a Coronavirus vaccine by 15 August last year while starting human trials for the same only a month prior. The ICMR in a statement specified that while it aims to expedite clinical trials of COVAXIN, developed in collaboration with Bharat Biotech, all globally accepted norms for vaccine development will be followed. They further clarified that it only aims to cut red tape related to the trial for the Coronavirus vaccine, and not to bypass any clinically necessary step.
Covaxin is developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Ltd, in collaboration with ICMR.
The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee on Monday addressed a letter to industrialist Mukesh Ambani urging him to supply oxygen to Gujarat which is facing an acute shortage amid the second wave of coronavirus. Only, they didn’t know that Reliance Industries has already been supplying 400 tonnes of oxygen to the state daily.
In a major embarrassment to Congress’s Gujarat unit, Dhanraj Nathwani, who is the Group President at Reliance Industries Limited, tweeted the letter by Congress leader Amit Chavda and pointed out his lack of awareness as a political leader.
His tweet read, “400 tons of #oxygen is being supplied to #Gujarat by the Reliance Jamnagar, on daily basis. This shows our commitment for Gujarat. Your letter shows lack of awareness being a political leader of State.”
In the letter, Chavda applauded Reliance Industries for sending help to Maharashtra from its refinery in Jamnagar but expressed displeasure for ignoring Gujarat which takes pride in the company.
Gujarat Congress’s letter to businessman Mukesh Ambani
To this Nathwani brought to the Congress leader’s notice that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is committed towards the state and has been sending uninterrupted help amid the on-going crisis of the coronavirus pandemic.
To this INC leader Chavda replied, “Indeed, it’s commendable what RIL is doing…but as you may be aware despite that, daily there is news from across the state of people are suffering due to lack of Oxygen. All my letter is requesting is that RIL does more for Guj as it shares a special relating with Gujarat.”
Indeed, it’s commendable what RIL is doing…but as you may be aware despite that, daily there is news from across the state of people are suffering due to lack of Oxygen.
All my letter is requesting is that RIL does more for Guj as it shares a special relating with Gujarat.
It is imperative to note that Chavda’s letter did not acknowledge Reliance Industries aid to the state of Gujarat at all. At best the letter seemed like criticism for aiding the neighbouring state- Maharashtra, where Congress is in power, while leaving out Gujarat.
This letter also puts Congress to shame as the party members requested help from the same businessman who their leaders bombard with the vilest of attacks in every opportunity presented.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is now infected with the Covid-19 virus, in the garb of attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps ceaselessly naming Adani and Ambani to mount an attack against the central government.
केंद्र सरकार की वैक्सीन रणनीति नोटबंदी से कम नहीं-
* आम जन लाइनों में लगेंगे * धन, स्वास्थ्य व जान का नुक़सान झेलेंगे * और अंत में सिर्फ़ कुछ उद्योगपतियों का फ़ायदा होगा।
The Serum Institute of India has announced the prices of its Covid-19 vaccine COVISHIELD for State governments and private hospitals for the next phase of the vaccination drive nationwide starting from 1st May. The price for the state government is pegged at Rs 400 per dose, while for the private hospitals, it is Rs 600 per dose.
The company made the declaration as the government of India’s directive opening up the vaccination program. While allowing 50% of the vaccines to be supplied to state governments and private hospitals, the order by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said that manufacturers would transparently make an advance declaration of the price for 50% supply that would be available to state govts. and in open market, before 1st May 2021.
A statement was released by the Serum Institute of India earlier today in which it made the announcement of providing its vaccines to the state governments and private hospitals in the wake of the broad guidelines issued by the central government for the procurement of vaccines.
“For the next two months, we will address the limited capacity by scaling up the vaccine production. Going ahead, 50 per cent of our capacities will be served to the Government of India’s vaccination program, and the remaining 50% of the capacity will be for the State governments and private hospitals,” the statement released by the Serum Institute of India said.
The SII also said that the prices of its COVID-19 vaccine Covishield are affordable as compared to the global COVID-19 vaccines like the American vaccines that charge above Rs 1500 per dose, Russian vaccines and Chinese vaccines that cost upwards of Rs 750 per dose.
The SII has also urged corporate entities and private individuals to access the vaccines through the state facilitated machinery and private health system, owing to the complexity, urgency of the situation and the challenges in supplying it independently to everyone.
As the company has announced the price for Covishield, state govts and private hospitals will set their price to be charged from people getting the vaccine based on these prices. It may be noted that some state like Assam and UP have already announced that they will vaccinate people for free. Private hospitals may add costs of logistics like transportation, storage and cost of consumables like syringes etc to arrive at the final retail price.
Government of India announced Phase 3 of the COVID-19 vaccination drive
On April 19, the Government of India announced the Phase 3 Strategy of Covid-19 vaccination. As per the government’s press release, every citizen of India above the age of 18 will be eligible for the vaccine through ‘other than the Government of India channel’ that includes state government and private vaccination providers. During the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several important decisions were taken related to pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of the vaccine.
The Centre on Monday announced a slew of changes in the vaccination policies and made provisions for states to purchase the vaccines directly from manufacturers. The Union Govt allowed vaccine manufacturers to sell 50% of their output in open market to states and other private players.
Maharashtra Congress leader Dr Ashish Deshmukh recently asked PM Modi to impose a state of Emergency in the state, citing the raging coronavirus outbreak. In a letter addressed to PM Modi, Deshmukh said the COVID-19 crisis in Maharashtra has gone out of control and asked the centre to impose a health and financial emergency in the state for at least two months as per Article 360 of the Constitution of India.
Deshmukh had said that the condition in Maharashtra is worsening as the number of COVID-19 positive cases are increasing at an alarming rate and putting the health infrastructure of the state under tremendous pressure. He also added that the grievous surge in the coronavirus caseloads has also meant that the stocks of essential drugs and medicines are in short supply.
Wrote a letter to The Hon’ble Prime Minister for Proclamation of Health as well as Financial Emergency looking to pandemic arisen out of COVID-19 disease in State of Maharashtra as per Article 360 of Constitution of India at least for two months.#PMOIndia#COVID19@PMOIndiapic.twitter.com/0ULCzEGW7p
“I am deeply saddened by the present chaos created because of COVID-19 pandemic and I would like to request that this is high time when the Government of India should proclaim Health Emergency followed by Financial Emergency as given under Article 360 of Constitution of India in the State of Maharashtra with immediate effect at least to two months, so as to get the State to normalcy,” Deshmukh said in his letter.
Deshmukh further added, “I humbly request to kindly invoke the powers under Article 360 of the Constitution of India and to proclaim Health as well as Financial Emergency in the State of Maharashtra, so that our fight against COVID-19 would be much better and I hope that there would help in saving precious lives of people and by giving much needed better medical facilities for COVID management in the State of Maharashtra.”
The former Maharashtra MLA also pointed out the travails suffered by the patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that the number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra as compared to the rest of the country is disturbing. He also added that the increasing number of COVID-19 cases is creating chaos and panic in the state of Maharashtra.
“The COVID-19 outbreak has led to complete failure of Health system in Maharashtra where patients are unable to get the beds, oxygen and the life-saving drugs. The Administration and Health System of Maharashtra State are failing and this has increased the overall death toll. The most heart-rending situation can be seen at funeral places where there is waiting for dead bodies to be cremated and there is non-availability of wood for the cremation,” he said.
Maharashtra is one of the worst-affected states by the coronavirus pandemic. The total number of cases in Maharashtra has crossed the 3.84 million mark, and over 60,000 people have died of the infection so far.
