The Uttar Pradesh government will have to spend nearly Rs 5,715 crore or 18% of its health budget for 2021-22 to vaccinate nearly 10 crore population aged between 18-44 years with Covishield vaccine. If it were to procure only Covaxin, the cost would increase by over Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 7,620 crore or 23% of its health budget. The state has made a provision of Rs 32,000 crore in its health budget for 2021-22 against Rs 29,000 crore in 2020-21.
Until April 30, as per the Central government policy, the government had been vaccinating only registered healthcare workers, frontline workers and those above the age of 45. Later, the Central government expanded the vaccine eligibility to all adults.
The Centre will continue to procure 50 per cent of manufacturers’ vaccine stocks for Covishield and Covaxin for vaccinating the former groups and manufacturers can sell the remaining 50 per cent of their vaccine stock to the state governments and to private hospitals, as per the new policy. The burden of procuring and administering vaccines for the 18-44 years group was thus shifted to the state governments and to those individual households that can afford private vaccination.
Official sources said that the inability of domestic vaccine manufacturers to cope up with the demand following the Covid surge during the second wave, the government decided to float global tenders as there was a huge and growing demand for vaccine shots from the 18-44 group. Moreover as per Centre’s policy, the inoculation of 18-44 group has become solely the state government’s responsibility since May 1. The spate of global tenders issued by at least nine states so far also exhibit little belief in the Centre’s assertions of a vaccine deluge in India post-August with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan claiming that there will be a total of 30 crore doses available between now and July and 216 crores more doses between August and December for all age-groups.
On behalf of the state government, UP State Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd floated a global tender for 4 cror doses on May 7. As interested vaccine manufacturers expressed their inability to meet some of the storage and supply requirements, the state government later relaxed the norms for procuring vaccines to accelerate Covid vaccination drive in the state and broaden the response from suppliers for its global tender for jabs.
In the amended bid document, the state government allowed manufacturers of vaccines that have to be stored and transported at a temperature less than minus 20 degree Celsius. It also reduced the earnest or security amount from Rs 16 crore to Rs 8 crore. However, the sellers have to “facilitate” transportation and safe storage of the vaccine — requiring temperatures below -20 degree Celsius — till dispatched to the vaccination centre. The last date of opening of technical bids has been extended to May 31.
The pre-bid meeting with representatives of vaccine manufacturers was held on May 12, in which representatives of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Serum Institute, Zydus Cadila, Dr Reddy’s, which is manufacturing Sputnik, and Bharat Biotech were present, the government felt the need to relax certain terms and conditions of the tender in order to enable more companies to participate.