Kerala playing political blame game indicating Vaccine shortage

The shortage of COVID-19 vaccines has triggered a political blame game in the State. It has stoked public anger and caused the Centre and the State to wrangle over the pricing and sourcing of the drug. The Centre has allocated 500 millions vials to the state of Kerala. Still there is acute shortage of vaccines in the state and forcing major COVID-19 vaccination centres and government primary health centres to close.

On the other hand, people above 45 years of age are scrambling to vaccination centres to get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, except that it is not available. Those who want to get their second dose are also not able to find a slot on the Co-WIN portal. Co-WIN Portal is not working properly and nearest PHC or CHC details never appears in the site, only few are shown. The Kerala government has also stopped the spot registrations on April 23. Akshaya centres are helping people register and schedule on Co-WIN. Every time, a fee must be paid to the Akshaya Centres in order to book the slot , whether it gets cancelled or approved. It is alleged that this is a plan to generate revenue for Kerala IT Mission through its subsidiary by arranging registration fee of Rs 50 per registration. Already Kerala Chief Minister’s Office seeks contributions to CM Distress Relief Fund for buying vaccine under hashtag #VaccineChallenge. The hashtag #VaccineChallenge is primarily propelled by supporters and enthusiasts of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Central Government is providing free vaccine for the states, even after Kerala Government is about to charge money for vaccination. Action has been taken against Delhi Chief Minister Mr Arvind Kejriwal by Central, in the same way, non-performing state governments should impose President Rule. The Central Government need to initiate an enquiry regarding the Covid vaccine distribution procedure in Kerala with immediate effect to help the people over there.