Public Health, not Private Profit

The Indian Express     2nd March 2021     Save    

Context: Government must ensure sufficient monitoring and safeguards as private entities are drawn into the vaccination drive.

Concerns with allowing private administration of vaccines:

  • Chargeable nature of vaccination: eligible individuals will have to pay Rs 250 per dose at private centres while it is free at government facilities.
  • Ethical concerns: With charging for a vaccine that has been allowed for only restricted emergency use based on limited data.
  • Weak monitoring: in reporting Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFIs).
    • Insufficient screening: about known cases of serious adverse events (SAEs) and deaths.
    • Lack of diligence and lapses at the state level: leading to a significant lag in the National AEFI Committee’s causality assessments of SAEs.

Positives steps by the government:

  • Increasing government centres: by enlisting private hospitals empanelled in the Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, CGHS, state-level insurance schemes.
  • Low Cap on the price for vaccination (250/dose): sends an early signal of the feasible drop in vaccine prices to the global community.
  • Retained control of the supply and distribution of vaccines:
    • Ensures uninterrupted supply for domestic vaccination programme while balancing commitments to the COVAX facility and other international demands.
    • Enables prioritised distribution: in the event of upsurge of cases in parts of the country or the spread of variants.
  • Upheld the principle of equity: in donating doses and facilitating exports.

Way forward:

  • Ensure free-of-cost vaccination: to beneficiaries while scaling up vaccination by engaging private institutions on a model of fair and reasonable remuneration for services.
    • Enable competitive pricing and ensure that procurement prices are within a reasonable realm of the costs of production.
  • Strengthen protocols and systems for monitoring and reporting of AEFIs: essential for building public confidence and reducing vaccine hesitancy.
  • Act in global solidarity and demonstrate leadership by sharing affordable vaccines, especially when poor nations fall perilously short of doses.