Govt Slashing Covid Vax Budget Could Mean People Buying Booster Dose on Their Own, Say Experts
News 18The proposal of Rs 5,000 crore Covid-19 vaccination Budget for this year hints that the Centre has done its job of providing free vaccines across the country and people may have to shell out for booster shots, according to experts. Rs 5,000 crore Enough for Jabbing Remaining Population According to health and public policy experts, the budget of Rs 5,000 crore may prove sufficient for the remaining primary doses, precautionary doses for the 60-plus and the 12-17 age group. Epidemiologist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, who agrees that Rs 5,000 crore is “enough” for pending 25 crore doses besides inoculating the population with precautionary doses, said, “We must consider that the government has already paid for Biological E’s Corbevax in advance for 30 crore doses.” Also, the given budget can be used for extending vaccination drive among teenagers. “The government can use the given budget for the remaining population and perhaps, may extend it to the 12-15 age group,” Dr Reddy from PHFI added.