India’s Covid-19 Vaccination Policy 3.0: For better or worse?
Healthcare
"It has been decided that from June 21, all adults over the age of 18 will be vaccinated [for] free. Whether it is the poor, the lower middle class, the middle class, or the upper-middle class, under the central government programme, everyone will get free vaccines," PM Modi said.
So what does this mean for India’s vaccination strategy and health sector which was severely crippled with the second wave of coronavirus?
The policy in a nutshell
A new policy of vaccination will come into effect from June 21. One of the biggest change is the Centre’s decision to take over the 25% procurement of the state quota(from the existing 50%).
The Centre will now directly procure 75% of the vaccines manufactured by vaccine companies and distribute them among the states who will now administer these vaccines to the citizens for free. Private hospitals will have access to the remaining 25% of the total vaccines.
The states will receive their doses for free from the federal government.
Allocation to states will be based on population, disease burden, the progress of vaccination and wastage of vaccines. Vaccine wastage will have a negative impact on allocation.
For those unable to register through the CoWin app, on-site registration facilities will be made available.
Additionally, RBI approved vouchers will be made available for EWS to encourage vaccination within the community.
The new policy raises some question
Is the split between the government and private hospitals’ procurement going to be exactly 75%-25%?
What happens, if private procurement in a given month turns out to be less than 25%, will the government procure beyond 75% for the given month or vice versa?
Unfortunately, there is no clarity on this question in the policy document released by the Centre.
The pricing confusion
Vaccines will be available at multiple prices:
First price at government-run centres: INR 0
Second and third price at private hospitals:
(i) If states distribute the vaccines allocated by the Centre: INR 150
(ii) For vaccines procured by private hospitals: INR 780 (for Covishield, including service charge)
The Center has not commented on how a private hospital will be able to sell the same vaccine at two different prices.
What if state governments do allocate vaccines to private hospitals?
Consider this scenario: A private hospital in Delhi is allotted 2000 vaccines by the state government from its quota. Should it procure another 2000 doses from the 25% quota?
The policy outlined by the Centre states that private hospitals can charge max INR 150/dose as service charge. This would leave no incentive for the hospital to buy the vaccines for itself.
Author’s opinion
This change in policy comes on the back of the Supreme Court slamming the Centre for inefficient vaccine distribution which exposed major gaps in the Indian healthcare system. While announcing the new vaccine policy, PM Modi seemed to be defending his government’s actions in late April. In his address, he hinted that the demands for decentralized procurement and distribution of vaccines led to vaccination chaos. Unfortunately, some of the states’ attempts at floating global tenders were also met with no success.
Conclusion
The policy is definitely better than the current policy, there is no doubt about it. However, we wish that there is more clarity given on these glaring questions. India has so far been able to vaccinate 230 million people out of the approximately 2 billion people who have to be vaccinated. The country has also set an ambitious target of vaccinating the whole population by the end of this year.
How are we going to procure the rest? When are we going to do it?
Family Man 2 and LTTE: Uncanny resemblance or creative inspiration?
Media and Politics
Tamil directors demand a ban!
Bharathiraja, a prominent director in the Tamil film industry and Seeman, a politician-cum-filmmaker, asked the government to ban The Family Man Season 2, directed by the duo Raj and DK. They condemned the show as they felt it insults the rebellion of Sri Lankan Tamils which was filled with good intentions, valour, and great sacrifices. While at the same time, the series has also garnered positive response from the critics and the audience alike.
In contrast, Sri Lankan Tamils call the series “a clear work of fiction”
In contrast to Seeman’s views, I.S. Kumaran, a Sri Lankan Tamil and international affairs scholar, called the series a clear work of fiction. He said that it’s not a fact-based documentary but mass-market entertainment where the makers have enjoyed creative freedom.
While more justice could have been done to Bhaskaran’s character, Raji’s portrayal of LTTE women as highly skilled is on point except that they wouldn’t do “anything” to fulfil their mission.
The Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lanka has had its fair share of communal disharmony, particularly between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority. Sinhalese populist policies of changing the official language from English to Sinhalese post-Independence in 1956 marginalised the Tamil community and made it difficult for them to get government jobs.
As a consequence, many groups were organised that revolted against the establishment and its policies, some like the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) showed political dissent in a non-violent manner whereas organisations like Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) chose violence.
Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam
LTTE was formed in 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran and by 1987, it had become the most powerful and prominent rebel group. They were an ideology and cadre driven group who were secessionists and wanted an independent Tamil Eelam (state).
Prabhakaran always believed in recruiting young people (12-13 year olds) who were affected by the atrocities carried out by Sri Lankan soldiers. Recruits were trained in guerilla warfare and at the end of their training, they declared their loyalty to Prabhakaran, and then, a cyanide capsule was gifted to them.
As an organisation, LTTE was clean. They did not believe in drinking, smoking, womanising or embezzlement. If anyone deviated from this principle, they were instantly killed. LTTE was the only declared “terrorist” organisation in the world that had an Air Force and a Navy wing. They also carried out multiple suicide bombings and are the only “terrorist” organisation to assassinate* heads of state of two different countries.
*Assassinations:
Rajiv Gandhi, Former PM of India (1991) - His initiative of sending Indian Forces for Peacekeeping mission to Sri Lanka was detrimental to their war
Ranasinghe Premadasa, President of Sri Lanka (1993)
Family Man’s Bhaskaran and LTTE’s Prabhakaran
Similarities
Both were the head of a rebel movement against the Sri Lankan Government
Use the phrase "Maaveeraku maranam illai (Heroes never die)"
Both authorised the assassination of the Indian Prime Minister & the Sri Lankan President
Differences
While Bhaskaran escaped from Sri Lanka and ran the shadow government from London, Prabhakaran led the movement on ground in Sri Lanka
The portrayal of ideologies is deviant around alcohol consumption and smoking
LTTE women cadre wouldn’t compromise self-respect for mission objectives
In summary
The series doesn’t aim to insult the Lankan Tamil freedom struggle, instead, showcases the struggle of a persecuted minority race. Makers have carefully chosen not to use the word “terrorist” against the rebels. The series also portrays political games played between the Indian, Sri Lankan and the TN government to further their own agendas, while shedding light on the larger Indo-China geopolitical play in the Indian Ocean region. However, it is clearly a work of fiction with a seemingly uncanny resemblance with LTTE.
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