Mumbai: Maharashtra will administer vaccines for free to all its residents. This was announced by Minister Nawab Malik on Sunday .
Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with over 60,000 daily new cases.
Currently, there is a tussle between the Centre and states over procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and the differential pricing. The Centre said vaccines procured by the Centre will be provided to states for free.
Bharat Biotech has priced Covaxin at Rs 600 for state governments and Rs 1,200 for private hospitals. It will, however, keep supplying vaccines to the Centre at Rs 150 per dose.
Similarly, Serum Institute has priced Covishield for Rs 600 for private hospitals and Rs 400 for state governments. Serum is demanding to increase the procurement cost of the Centre to Rs 400.
The Prime Minister has also stressed that vaccination was “the biggest weapon” in the fight against coronavirus.
People above 18 years of age will be given vaccines from May 1.
Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana have already promised free vaccines for all adults.
