Will Vaccine Dearth in India Have a Global Impact?
India, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of coronavirus vaccine, has reportedly expressed concerns over its production capacity
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated a coronavirus vaccination campaign in India “Teeka Utsav” which means a vaccine festival that has sprung up questions about the sufficient supplies of shots in the country.
Indian politician Rahul Gandhi poured scorn on Teeka Utsav in a tweet and maintained that exporting vaccines is not a wise decision in a situation when the countrymen are at risk.
बढ़ते कोरोना संकट में वैक्सीन की कमी एक अतिगंभीर समस्या है, ‘उत्सव’ नहीं-
अपने देशवासियों को ख़तरे में डालकर वैक्सीन एक्सपोर्ट क्या सही है?केंद्र सरकार सभी राज्यों को बिना पक्षपात के मदद करे।
हम सबको मिलकर इस महामारी को हराना होगा।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 9, 2021
Meanwhile, Indian Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad spurned the claims by Congress leader.
India is not facing vaccine starvation but Shri Gandhi is facing attention starvation. Why has Rahul Gandhi not yet taken vaccine?Is it an oversight or he doesnt want it or has he already taken one in many of his undisclosed trips to foreign locations but doesnt want to disclose?
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) April 9, 2021
India, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of coronavirus vaccine, has reportedly expressed concerns over its production capacity.
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“We are prioritizing the needs of India but we are still short of being able to supply to every Indian, said Adar Poonawalla, head of the Serum Institute of India (SII).
India is declared as the state with most coronavirus cases on daily basis after United States and Brazil, and so far, around 90 million doses had been administered nationally, BBC reported.
The two vaccine producers in India have raised concerns and warned the state of raw material shortages, affecting the production of the dose.
Another Indian manufacturer, Biological E, which is producing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, has also raised concerns about possible shortages affecting vaccine production, as reported by BBC.
The Indian government had also donated vaccines to a number of countries and was the state with most vaccine donations to the world until the export stopped.
The country placed a temporary hold on all exports of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine manufactured by SII.
As per an official statement by SII, the company is providing 60-70 million doses every month to India and a total of a nearly equal amount was exported.
For decades now, India has been running one of the world’s largest immunization programs that vaccinate tens of millions, including newborns and pregnant women, against various diseases, read a BBC report.
So, it was believed that the country was well-prepared for the mass production as the Serum company announced to boost its production to 100 million doses a month.
However, it remained an unachieved target for the company and the world, depending heavily on India for the doses is in a clueless state now.
