New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked its Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to pay for Covid vaccination if they are eligible to get the shot in the current round of the inoculation drive, ThePrint has learnt.
According to a source, the party has asked all those who are above the age of 60, and those who have comorbidities and fall in the 45-59 age bracket to opt for the facility, and pay for it.
“The idea is quite simple. We are the public representatives and considering we can easily afford to pay Rs 250, we should. This is not a direction but a suggestion. It will take the pressure off the government hospitals and it will be available there for those who can’t afford it,” said a senior BJP leader who didn’t wish to be named.
The Covid-19 vaccination will be free at government facilities and paid-for at private facilities.
India began its second phase of the Covid vaccination Monday, which will cover over 10 crore people in two priority groups — those above 60 years, and those between 45 and 59 years with comorbidities.
In the first phase, which kicked off on 16 January, vaccinations were made available for health workers across India, with frontline workers allowed access earlier this month.
Also read: From vaccine hesitancy to vaccine eagerness. In phase II, Modi govt has new challenges
‘We have decided to avail paid facility’
On Monday, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, for instance, took to Twitter and posted a picture of him getting vaccinated at a hospital in the national capital.
“I request that those who can spend some money on the Corona vaccine should get vaccinated at a private facility. Being a Parliamentarian, I could get this facility free of cost in all government hospitals, but I decided to use the facility in a private hospital and paid for it,” he said in a tweet.
मेरा आग्रह है कि जो लोग कोरोना के टीका के लिए कुछ पैसे खर्च कर सकते हैं वे प्राइवेट अस्पताल में ही टीका लगाएँ ।सांसद होने के नाते सभी सरकारी अस्पताल में निःशुल्क मुझे यह सुविधा प्राप्त थी लेकिन मैंने प्राइवेट अस्पताल में शुल्क सहित ही टीका लगाने का फ़ैसला किया । pic.twitter.com/IC4iEnVZqw
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) March 1, 2021
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was also quoted as saying, “Modi ji had clearly said that our Covid warriors would be vaccinated first, and then us. To those who were questioning him, he has replied, ‘I was waiting for my turn’. We ministers have decided to avail paid vaccination facility.”
He referred to the first dose of Covid vaccine PM Modi took earlier in the day at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.
Also read: Why an efficient vaccine is not the same thing as a safe vaccine