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BIG STORY JUNE 11, 2021 | The Indian Eye 4

covid-19 crisis

Vaccine Mess

very small number of doses coming from the Us. chaotic vaccination plan. Pfizer and

Moderna demanding indemnity in india. everything that could go wrong with india’s

vaccine efforts has gone wrong. What is the government doing to correct the course?

Our Bureau
New Delhi

n a huge development on
Thursday, US Vice Presi-
Ident Kamala Harris spoke
to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi over the Covid-19 vac-
cine strategy. The phone call
was initiated by Kamala Harris
after US President Joe Biden
announced his plan to share
some 25 million of a planned
80 million Covid-19 vaccines
with the rest of the world. The
United States will donate nearly
19 million doses of its Covid-19
vaccine through the COVAX fa-
cility, he said in a statement.
Earlier on Thursday, Presi-
dent Joe Biden announced the
first details of the U.S. sending
80 million COVID-19 vaccines
overseas with the aim of “end-
ing the pandemic globally.” At
least 75 percent of these dos-
es—nearly 19 million—will be A healthcare worker inoculates a vaccine against COVID-19 to a man during a drive-in vaccination center at
shared through COVAX, in- Moolchand Hospital, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo)
cluding approximately 6 million
doses for Latin America and contributor to the WHO pro- are infringed by Executive pol- Justices D Y Chandrachud, L
the Caribbean, approximately 7 gram. Under the US plan, India icies”, the Supreme Court said Nageswara Rao and S Ravin-
million for South and Southeast may get under 6 million doses, Tuesday that the Centre’s pol- dra Bhat — the order in the
Asia, and approximately 5 mil- which is a very small number, icy of arranging free Covid-19 suo motu matter of Covid-19
lion for Africa. “The remaining considering India’s population vaccine jabs for the 45-plus age management heard May 31 was
doses, just over 6 million, will and the magnitude of crisis. category, Health Care Workers uploaded Tuesday — sought de-
be shared directly with coun- The announcement came (HCW) and Front Line Work- tailed information in the form
tries experiencing surges, those as India gets desperate for vac- ers (FLW) while asking the of an affidavit in two weeks.
in crisis, and other partners and cines. The vaccination plan is 18-44 age group to pay for the The bench said: “Unlike the
neighbors, including Canada, moving slowly and in a chaotic vaccination by state and Union prior policy, the Liberalized Vac-
Mexico, India, and the Republic manner. So much so that even territory governments and pri- cination Policy does not priori-
of Korea,” Biden said. the Supreme Court has taken vate hospitals was “prima facie tize persons with co-morbidities
It is not clear how many dos- the Modi government to task. arbitrary and irrational”. and other diseases, persons with
es India will get. It is also not Underlining that “our Consti- Directing the Centre to “un- disabilities, or any other vulner-
clear if India will get any doses tution does not envisage courts dertake a fresh review of its vac- able groups. This is especially an
under the COVAX scheme as it to be silent spectators when cination policy addressing the issue because the experience of
was supposed to be the biggest constitutional rights of citizens concerns raised”, the bench of Continued on next page... >>

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