Comments
Close on the heels of the #RasputinChallenge where medical college students sought to dance their way out of Covid-19 blues, Kerala is witnessing a #VaccineChallenge in which the ‘vaccine-deprived’ State is donating the purchase price to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.
The online campaign challenged those who received the free vaccine dose to contribute ₹400, the price fixed by manufacturer Serum Institute of India for every dose of its Covishield vaccine, government sources said.
‘Reflects people’s attitude’
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the novel method of protests reflects the attitude of its people who have always stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the government in its long-drawn fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The hashtag #VaccineChallenge is primarily propelled by supporters and enthusiasts of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).
The Chief Minister said the campaign had raised ₹22 lakh on till 4 pm on the first day on Thursday. On Friday, the collection amounted to ₹1 crore with various organisations and institutions chipping in, he added.
Money being accrued in this manner is being credited to a separate account in the Distress Relief Fund and will be solely used for purchase of vaccine, he added.
The CPI(M), majority and leading partner of the LDF, said on Thursday that the Centre had stood the free and universal vaccination regime on its head by allowing private players to decide prices.
Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala urged the Centre to ensure an adequate supply of vaccine doses.
Meanwhile, K Surendran, BJP State President, accused the government of attempting to blame the Centre for its shortcomings. The Centre had delivered 62,42,833 doses to the State till April 21. More consignments are on the way, he said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.