Rahul Gandhi asks, Why should private hospitals charge for vaccines if it’s free

Rahul Gandhi also said that the country was facing rampant unemployment and the double-whammy of shortage of vaccines

Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and Member of Parliament, on Monday, questioned the rationale behind allowing the private hospitals to charge for the COVID-19 vaccine when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced free vaccination for all people above 18 years of age.

“One simple question – If vaccines are free for all, why should private hospitals charge for them?” Rahul Gandhi asked via a tweet on his official handle.

The Congress leader also said that the country was facing rampant unemployment and the double-whammy of shortage of vaccines.

He tweeted, “#NoVaccineNoVacancy Only Blue ticks.” He was referring to the outrage triggered by Twitter first removing and then restoring the verified status — ‘blue tick’— on personal accounts of VP M Venkaiah Naidu and top RSS members.

On Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced that from June 21, the Centre will provide free vaccines to the states for all citizens above the age of 18 years.

“The Government of India itself will buy 75% of the total vaccine production from vaccine manufacturers and give it free to the state governments,” he said.

“One who doesn’t want free vaccine and prefers to get vaccinated in a private hospital, we have taken care for this also. In this connection, 25% of the vaccines made in the country are allocated for private sector hospitals,” the PM said.

Mr Modi informed, “To increase vaccine availability, the process of procuring vaccines from abroad has been sped up.”