Dr. Harsh Vardhan was interacting with the media after overseeing the dry run drill in government-run Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Shahdara and he was asked if the vaccine will be free in the country like it is announced to be in the national capital. To this, he said, "Delhi mein nahi saare desh mein free hai (Not just in Delhi, it will be free in the entire country)".
Later clarifying this statement, Dr. Harsh Vardhan tweeted "In the 1st phase of Covid-19 Vaccination, free vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries that include 1 crore healthcare and 2 crore frontline workers. Details of how further 27 crore priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalised".
Earlier, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was asked if the Covid-19 vaccine will be given free of cost in the state. He replied, "Yes, medicines and treatment are being provided for free in Delhi anyway".
Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its manifesto for Bihar Elections 2020 had committed to giving Coronavirus vaccine to people in the state for free. This kicked off a debate with people questioning why the promise was made a part of the manifesto and if it is justified for one state to be given free vaccine when the spread is surging in others as well.
Meanwhile, a mock drill of the Covid-19 vaccination drive is being conducted across all states and Union Territories on Saturday. The drive will assess the ability and readiness to administer shots to hundreds of millions of people by testing the preparedness for the vaccine rollout.
"Feedbacks received after the dry run in 4 states were included in guidelines for vaccination and today's dry run in all states/UTs is being conducted as per new guidelines. Except for giving the actual vaccine, every procedure is being followed during the drill," said the Union Health Minister.
(With Agency Inputs)