Buy enough vaccine: CPI(M) to Govt
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 23 2021:
The Communist Party of India (M), Manipur Secretariat has expressed concern over the spike in the number of Covid cases and apparent shortage of vaccine in the State.
Without waiting for the Centre's intervention, the State Government should procure enough stock of Covid vaccines to cover the eligible population, demanded CPI (M) Manipur Secretariat in a press release.
"The vaccine required for the State would cost not more than Rs 90 crore," it said.
There are not enough Covid beds in Government run hospitals and health centres, forcing many to throng private hospitals and clinics to receive treatments.
But higher cost of treatment at the private hospitals has left many families hapless and in big financial trouble.
Many families have been devastated after main bread earners fell ill or succumbed to Covid-19, CPI (M) noted.
To avoid or alleviate the burden, the State Government should come up with a unique insurance scheme to help these family members as done in the States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu or fix the cost of treatment of Covid patients at private healthcare institutions, it suggested.
The cost for treatment in general wards of Kerala private hospitals is fixed at only Rs 2,645 which cover charges of registration; doctors and nurses; bed and boarding; medicines and drugs; various tests, oxygen and other amenities, it said.
The Kerala Government has also been assisting Covid affected families with Rs 4,000 each and it is highly advisable that Manipur Government take up some relief measures, it added.
Moreover, the State Government should adopt a policy to reduce the burden on the families, whose members are Covid positive and are undergoing home isolation by aiding PPEs, face masks, hand gloves and subsidizing the rate of medical oxygen, it said.
Another big concern is the cases of Black Fungus across the country, but luckily no cases have been detected yet in Manipur, it said.
Even if there is no such case, the State Government should take the matter seriously and arrange all the needful precautionary measures to effectively tackle black fungus disease.
CPI (M) also went on to laud the State Government's decision to bear cremation costs of Covid victims in the State.