Key Points :
- India’s eagerness to develop vaccines is understandable as the country has recorded over 80,000 new cases every day for the past few weeks and has over 9.6 lakh active cases.
- Though our country has the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume( SII) which is also conducting trials of Covid vaccine candidates ahead of mass production, there are concerns raised upon storage and distribution of the vaccine.
- Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India also is concerned with the monetary angle to make sure the vaccine is instated smoothly to the citizens of the nation and throughout the globe.
The world is grappling through a tough time owing to the Covid-19 virus emerging from the family of coronaviruses which had caused a ravaging pandemic affecting many lives globally. The scientist and researcher fraternity is in a race to find a cure to this disease. Almost 300 vaccines are in their developmental stage. However only 9 vaccines have been given the green flag to continue further as of now. India is giving the viral battle a tough fight as the doctors and medical staff are doing their best to save lives. India’s eagerness to develop vaccines is understandable as the country has recorded over 80,000 new cases every day for the past few weeks and has over 9.6 lakh active cases.
Innate vaccine developers Bharat Biotech are in Phase 2 trials with COVAXIN and Zydus Cadila is waiting to receive approvals for Phase 3 clinical trials for its vaccine.
Covishield – the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and pharma giant AstraZeneca and being tested by the Serum Institute of India – is currently in Phase 2 and Phase 3 human trials. During his Independence Day speech last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that when a feasible vaccine was ready the government had a plan to ensure that it reached every Indian. The Prime Minister stated,”Three vaccines are in different stages of testing. When scientists give the go-ahead, we are ready with a plan for production. How the vaccine will reach every Indian in the least amount of time – we have a roadmap ready for that.”
For the unversed, though our country has the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume( SII) which is also conducting trials of Covid vaccine candidates ahead of mass production, there are concerns raised upon storage and distribution of the vaccine. Bloomberg aciculated in its report, there are concerns over storage and delivery barriers.
Now Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India also is concerned with the monetary angle to make sure the vaccine is instated smoothly to the citizens of the nation and throughout the globe.
Mr. Poonawalla took to Twitter and asked his question which stated, “Quick question: will the Government of India have 80,000 crores available over the next one year? Because that is what the Ministry of Health needs to buy and distribute the vaccine to everyone in India. This is the next concerning challenge we need to tackle.”
He added ,” I ask this question, because we need to plan and guide the vaccine manufacturers both in India and overseas to service the needs of our country in terms of procurement and distribution.”
I ask this question, because we need to plan and guide, vaccine manufacturers both in India and overseas to service the needs of our country in terms of procurement and distribution.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) September 26, 2020
In an interview given in July , Mr. Poonawalla suggested the Covishield vaccine, if made available, would cost around Rs. 1,000. He also said India would get around 30 million doses per month and that it could take up to two years for the entire country to be vaccinated.
Talking on the concerns related to distribution, last week Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said the government planned to use the Universal Immunisation Program (UIP) – which was introduced in India in 1978 as the Expanded Programme of Immunisation and covers all districts in a phased manner – to distribute the vaccine.
