Key to our fight against COVID-19 must be ramping up vaccination: Manmohan Singh to PM
While India has been dealing with the second wave of coronavirus, Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday wrote to PM Narendra Modi to convey his suggestions on COVID-19 management.
Manmohan Singh sought flexibility for states to define the eligibility of the COVID-19 vaccine for the frontline workers below 45 years, which could also include teachers and lawyers. He also and urged the government to focus on the percentage of people being vaccinated rather than the absolute numbers.
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In a letter to PM Narendra Modi, Singh that the focus should be on ramping up the vaccine programme, which was the key to pandemic response.
“There are many things we must do to fight the epidemic but a big part of this effort must be ramping up the vaccination programme,” he wrote in a letter.
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Even as Singh demanded that the government make public the vaccine dose orders placed with companies and deliveries promised over the next 6 months.
“The government should publicise what are the firm orders for doses placed on different vaccine producers and accepted for delivery over the next six months. If we want to vaccinate a target number in this period, we should place enough orders in advance so that producers can adhere to an agreed schedule of supply,” Singh said.
“The central government could retain 10 percent for distribution based on emergency needs, but other than that, states should have a clear signal of likely availability so that they can plan their rollout,” the ex-PM further wrote.
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