A Sensible Vaccination Policy

Context: Government of India must adopt the policy of free vaccination to avoid the costs of a freewheeling epidemic and realise the positive externalities of herd immunity.

Arguments in Favour of Free Vaccination Policy

• Success of past free vaccination drive: free vaccination for smallpox, cholera, polio, typhoid, yellow fever, rubella, tuberculosis has helped in their eradication and control.
• Avoid the economic cost of the epidemic: preventing infections via lockdowns causes economic disruptions in terms of loss of workdays, future productivity and employment.
  • Over 21 million salaried workers lost jobs in 2020-21 due to economic contraction.
• Absence of exact data on Covid-19 R0 rates (helps in determining the level of herd immunity): makes a strong case for free vaccination drive for all
  • An R0 of 1 indicates that only one person will be infected by an infected individual. An R0 of above 1 indicates chances of an epidemic.
  • R0 of 2 implies vaccination of over 50% of the population for achieving herd immunity)
  • India has over 11 million registered Covid cases and 158,000 deaths, but seropositive rates indicate much higher infections (due to high asymptomatic infections).
• Globally accepted policy: All of EU, US, China, Brazil are providing vaccines free without ado.
• Avoid the dual-pricing system: Insufficient government capacity or efficiency forces many to pay private hospitals for vaccination (for which they have to pay Rs 250).
• No need for identification: People won’t take multiple doses because it’s free. Everyone who can’t pay and can’t visit a government hospital, for whatever reason, remains unprotected and at risk.