Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has requested his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan for a collaborative strategy with the Centre to procure and administer Covid-19 vaccines.

In a letter to the Kerala CM, after the last day of the AP global tendering process for vaccines did not elicit any response from manufacturers, Jagan attributed this to the Centre having all the regulatory and other powers.

He stated, "The need of the hour is to increase our vaccine availability, be it through any source. A centralized and coordinated vaccination, supported by the states, would lead to wonderful results for the people of India. Therefore, I would urge you to lend your support and we as Chief Ministers speak in once voice and ensure that India overcomes this pandemic.

In his letter, Jagan wrote, "I hope this letter finds you in good health. India is showing initial signs of retreating from a deadly second wave of coronavirus infections. But, we cannot let our guard down and I am sure you are preparing for the journey ahead by ensuring even stronger healthcare systems in your respective states.

Our sharpest weapon against Coronavirus is the vaccine. India's vaccination drive has to be even faster, a fact pointed by several experts. As to why I am inking this letter also stems from this reality.

We had gone for a global tender in order to procure the vaccines directly in line with our commitment to vaccinate everybody free of cost. The date of submission of bids was June 3 until 5 pm, but to my dismay no one quoted and the situation is now being transformed into States Vs. Union and also the approving Authority being Govt. of India and so on and so forth, the situation no longer is in our control as far as the procurement of vaccines are concerned.

Apart from this, the vaccination drive is plagued by multiple coordination issues. Some states feel they are not getting enough and global tenders floated by states are not getting the desired responses. Any delay in vaccinating the people would come at a heavy price.

It is my request that as Chief Ministers, we speak in a single voice and urge the Government of India to take charge and responsibility of the vaccination drive, the way it was in the early part of the year. The timely vaccination of medical staff yielded great results. The vaccination was completed on time and this decision ensured that our frontline workers and medical professionals could fight the virus at the peak of the second wave.

While there are many supply constraints in vaccine production, the decision to give the states a larger say in vaccination procurement was something that was unwarranted, the fact remains that the last month and a half has made us realise the challenges of this drive. It has also led to a significant deviation of resources from augmenting healthcare capacities in our respective states."

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