Kerala Chief Minister Backs Odisha's Suggestions On Covid Vaccine Procurement

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Centre should procure a preventive vaccine against COVID-19 and the administration of vaccination be left to be managed effectively by the states.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has agreed to his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik's suggestions that COVID-19 vaccines should be procured by the Centre from abroad and the states should be given the flexibility to manage the inoculation procedure. "...We are in complete agreement that the Centre should procure a preventive vaccine against COVID-19 and the administration of vaccination be left to be managed effectively by the states," Mr Vijayan wrote to Mr Patnaik on Thursday. "Looking forward to fruitful cooperation in the efforts to meet the unprecedented challenge posed by the pandemic," he added. Mr Vijayan said this while responding to Naveen Patnaik's June 2 letter to all the chief ministers where he had sought unity among states on an ideal procurement policy. He had also advised states to shun competition over procuring vaccines from manufacturers.