Mumbai: Asserting that the central government must give the COVID-19 vaccine to people free of cost, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said that if it doesn't do so then the state would think about distributing the vaccine for free.
"We demanded that the central government should give the COVID-19 vaccine to people free of cost. If it doesn't, then we will think about giving it for free in the state," Tope said, adding the central's government decisions on providing vaccines will be implemented in Maharashtra.
About the vaccination in the state, Tope said that the Maharashtra government is working in three phases. "The first phase is of training. We are aggressively working on providing training to the health workers. The second phase is fulfilling the cold chain requirements and the third is logistics -- what will be the price of the vaccine and other things. It will be done according to the central government guidelines." Tope added that at least three crore people in Maharashtra are on the priority list for the vaccination.
On starting local trains for all non-essential services, he said the situation would be monitored at the year-end and accordingly a decision will be taken."
