The only way to achieve it is to rely on and work with the private sector to acquire and allocate the vaccine across India, and shun price and quantity controls. Instead, the government must pay for vaccine doses at cost, the only way to ensure India doesn’t destroy its own long-term private vaccine production capacity. Even if doses are priced well above cost, courts and governments should not worry about the rich getting the vaccine first in the market. Aside from helping the poor, this is an economic reason for the government to reimburse the poor for getting vaccinated. Given that a vaccine is well on its way, its acquisition and allocation should be based on an economic way of thinking.

Source: Mint September 14, 2020 16:28 UTC