Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi late Monday backtracked on a policy he announced six weeks ago that effectively raised the price of COVID-19 vaccines and forced some Indians to pay for doses, even as the country faced a deadly second wave of the virus that has since infected millions and killed tens of thousands.
Modi said the federal government will source vaccines directly from manufacturers and distribute them free to states starting June 21, instead of requiring individual states to buy doses from manufacturers. The reversal is intended to accelerate the country’s vaccination program, which aims to inoculate every adult by the end of the year. So far, roughly 15% of Indian adults are fully vaccinated.
Under the current policy that took effect May 1, India segregates its vaccination distribution into three channels—federal, state, and private hospitals. Vaccine producers sell up to half of their stocks to the federal government, and a quarter each to state governments and private hospitals.
The new policy will mean that the federal government will buy up to two-thirds of the vaccines approved for distribution, while another third will be sold to private hospitals. States will no longer have to buy vaccines and pass the cost on to citizens, meaning the majority of India’s population will be eligible for free vaccines.
Modi said he introduced the current policy because states had wanted the freedom to source their own vaccines. Now, he said, states are reconsidering that approach.
“Many states have done their best, but they have realized the challenge of such a big program,” he added.
But the announcement also comes as Modi’s government faces fierce criticism for its handling of the second COVID wave. Critics blame his administration for fueling the deadly outbreak earlier this year by allowing elections in five states as well as a massive religious festival that attracted thousands of Hindu devotees. Opposition parties have also slammed Modi’s government for expanding the vaccination program without ensuring adequate supply.
On May 1, India opened vaccine eligibility to all adults 18 and up. Those 45 and older and health care and frontline workers are eligible for free vaccines at government centers, but everyone else had to receive their jabs from state governments or private hospitals, sometimes for a fee.
Under the new policy, only private hospitals will be allowed to charge patients for jabs, though prices are capped at INR 150 or $2 over what hospitals pay per dose. It was not immediately clear whether manufacturers will be allowed to charge market rates to private hospitals.
The Supreme Court of India has criticized the federal government’s current vaccination program, saying that the policy forced state governments to compete with one another to buy vaccines.
Health care experts have said the policy was flawed because it didn’t distribute vaccines based on need, but instead gave every state an equal opportunity to snap up doses.
Uday Shankar, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the new vaccination policy, saying that a “centralized approach” will help ease confusion and speed up vaccine procurement. A faster rollout is needed, he said. At the current rate of 2.2 million doses daily, only 30% of the country’s population will be vaccinated by year-end.
