A PEOPLE'S COVID-19 VACCINE IN INDIA: NO ONE IS SAFE UNTIL EVERYONE IS SAFE

The people of India are paying the deadliest price for today’s national and global vaccine scarcity and inequality. As infection and death rates soar and overall COVID-19 vaccination rates dip, the Government of India’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy steps back from its commitment to free COVID-19 vaccines for all; abandons priority access according to need; and ushers in the risk of  pandemic profiteering by pharmaceutical companies at the cost of people’s lives. The Government of India needs to announce a detailed and transparent COVID-19 Vaccine policy arrived upon in consultation with State governments and the people of India; drastically increase the pace of vaccination with vaccines purchased at true cost prices centrally, and distributed equitably prioritising those most at-risk first and free of charge to all. 

Read Oxfam India's policy brief with recommendations for true #PeoplesVaccine. 

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(Photo Credit: REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas)