Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Sunday attacked the Centre over the export of coronavirus vaccines, saying many lives could have been saved in India if the doses were given to people in the country first.
He alleged the Centre "deprioritised" vaccinating Indians and send doses to outside just for "image-building" and "earning praise from the international fraternity."
"It's a heinous crime committed by the Central government to sell vaccines to other countries only for its image management at a time when people were dying in our own country," he told an online briefing.
Citing a newspaper report, Sisodia said the Centre sold coronavirus vaccines to 93 countries of which 60 percent had COVID-19 under control, and also where there was no threat of loss of life due to the virus.
A large number of youths in the country perished to the coronavirus in the second wave of the pandemic, he said, adding their lives could have been saved if the vaccines were given to them instead of exporting the doses.
He said the Centre should now ensure that the vaccines manufactured in the country are provided to the states that are facing a shortage. He reiterated the Delhi government can vaccinate everyone in the city within three months if adequate doses are made available to it.
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"For appreciation from the international fraternity, the Central government committed an offence and deprioritised vaccinating our own country," Sisodia charged, claiming around one lakh people died in the country due to Covid-19 since March this year.
The Central government is concerned about building its image worldwide rather than vaccinating India's youth, he alleged.
Delhi received only 5.5 lakh doses to vaccinate those between 18-45 years, while 6.5 crore doses were sent abroad, he said.
"These numbers reflect how our Central government doesn’t value the lives of our younger generations. All the countries including Canada, the US and the UK gathered enough vaccines and prioritised vaccinating their own citizens first," he said.
No other nation, except for France, exported vaccines before fully vaccinating its own people, he said. France only exported 1 lakh doses internationally after it accumulated doses for itself, Sisodia added.
The Deputy CM said that the second wave of COVID-19 has caused massive surge in new cases and deaths and there are shortages of beds in hospitals, and space for last rites at crematoriums.
"There was hope that our mortality rate with COVID would reduce. While scientists in India developed two types of COVID vaccine, we have still not been able to vaccinate our citizens in a swift manner, and this is very distressing," he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister requested the Central government to learn from countries like Canada, the US, France and other European nations and prioritise vaccinating all Indian citizen, and make vaccine accessible to all.
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